Back Home
by RosyRain
Summary: Lost in a different world, how will they ever go back? Please forgive this fic. It might be lame or something, not sure...
1. Prologue

_STUPIDITY ALERT! Just another one sprouted from my brain. Stupid plotbunnies!_

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* * *

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One by one, the warriors were sent back to their worlds, crystals safely in their hands. Cosmos gazed at them, smiling wistfully as she saw them depart safely, but her smile turned into a worried expression when she heard a voice.

"So Chaos, the God of Discord has fallen," the voice said. "But do not worry; I will take care of your warriors for him."

"No, you mustn't," Cosmos pleaded as she turned around to face a figure in a black robe, white wings sprouting from behind.

"But I already have." Cosmos turned back to the gardens outside of Cornelia. The Warrior of Light had disappeared. "They are no longer under your power now, Cosmos, Goddess of Harmony. In my world, they shall suffer and die, with you no longer able to come and save them," he said, his voice fading.

Cosmos looked down, worried and panic. "No. Cichol…" The goddess wept in defeat. Her power could not aid her warriors in that world. They were helpless. Unless… "Morrighan, please hear me," she whispered.

"What is it my dear friend?" the Goddess of war and vengeance asked calmly, putting a hand on the other's shoulder.

"Cichol… he…" she whispered.

"Ahh… Yes, his plan to take over my world is in motion," she said solemnly. "And your warriors are in the face of danger, once again. Do not worry my friend; I will see to it that they will not be harmed."

"But how?" Cosmos asked.

Morrighan gave the other goddess a reassuring smile. "My own warrior will help. Surely she could help them get back, and prevent Erinn's possible doom…"

* * *

_:D Told ya it was stupid! Well, thanks for reading this little bit. Tell me what you think by clicking the Review button. It's late here, so forgive the sloppiness..._

_Continue or Forget?_


	2. Chapter 1

The ten warriors found themselves on a white staircase. Slowly, they walked up and saw an empty landing. "Where are we?" Terra asked, stepping back a little. "Shouldn't we be back already?"

"I don't know, but I think Cosmos might be able to tell us," Cloud said. Out of a blue, a woman with white hair tied into pigtails appeared right in front of them. She wore a form-fitting black dress made out fine silk and had deep azure eyes. Zidane let out a low whistle.

"I like where we are so far…" he said, examining the woman in front of them from head to toe.

The woman smiled at them. "Hello and welcome to the Soulstream. My name is Nao Mariota Pryderi," she said calmly. She was greeted by confused looks, making her giggle a bit. "You can just call me Nao for short. Right now, I'll be sending you to the world of Erinn. But before I do, would you like to ask something?"

"Oh! I do!" Zidane said, raising his hand. "Where do you live?"

Nao giggled again. "I live here," she replied, motioning to the vast expanse of sky.

"I have a question," Light said, stepping forward. "When can we speak to Cosmos?"

Nao furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm sorry, but I can't answer that question," she said uneasily. "Are there any more questions?" she asked, turning to the others. "Don't worry, Erinn is a peaceful place. There are many nice people down there," she said happily. "I'll be sending you down there already. Please give this to the Chief in Tir Chonaill. His named is Duncan. You can't miss him," she said, giving Light a small envelope. "Enjoy your new life," she said softly as the warriors started to fade. When they finally disappeared, Nao looked up at the sky and frowned. "Those were some weird ones Goddess Morrighan," she murmured.

* * *

This time, the warriors found themselves standing on what seemed to be a portal or seal of some sort. There were a few raccoons and chickens roaming around and a boy with a huge helmet covering his face stood near the fence. "Where are we this time?" Luneth asked, raising an eyebrow, slightly annoyed.

"You're in the Forest of Souls and my name is Tin. You must be the new arrivals. Nao just told me that you guys were coming. You see that road there, follow that and you'll be able to get to Erinn," the boys explained.

"Forest of Souls?" Cecil asked, dubious.

Tin nodded. "Yep, but once you get out of here and enter Tir Chonaill, you won't be able to come back for some time," the boy said.

"Do you know anyone by the name of Cosmos, young one?" Light asked.

The boy shook his head. "Nope, but go ask around town… Maybe they know something." He pointed a finger at the downhill path again. "Follow that road and turn to the left. There's another portal there that will send you to Tir." The warrior nodded and walked away, following Tin's directions. The other soon followed after their leader. "Enjoy your new life!" the boy called.

The Warriors did see another portal, and hesitantly, they stepped upon it, being transported to another place.

In a blink of an eye, they were now in the middle of a small square. They saw three small houses and based on their signs, they were the general shop, grocery store and the bank. Up on a hill, they saw an old man standing, looking about, and another house.

"Who do you think this Duncan person is?" Tidus asked, scratching the back of his head as he looked around.

"Maybe he's that old guy over there," Bartz said, pointing at the old man who was giving them a weird look. "Let's check it out!" They walked up to the old man and saw that he was, indeed, old and wise, just by looking. "Hi there. Do you know a Chief Duncan anywhere?"

The old man nodded. "Yes, I am who you're looking for. Nao told me all about you…"

* * *

A girl with purplish silver hair sat beside the inn. Her short wavy hair was tied into a half ponytail, bangs framing her forehead, though a stubborn lock of hair remained in the middle. She had deep purple eyes that glimmered as the sun shone upon them. Her lips formed into an intoxicating sweet smile. She wore what looked like a priestess' robe. It was of the purest white with light blue trimmings and scarf tossed over her shoulders. Though her robes hid it, her strap boots that reached mid way to her knees were a dark chocolate brown, while a single purple rose was tucked safe behind her ear.

"Ahhh, Dewberry… Don't you love it when the sun shines?" the girl asked turning to her left, only to see air. "Dewberry?" she called, her eyebrows furrowed. She heard her dear penguin's squawk and turned her head to see that she was up on the hill. "Get down from there you stupid flightless bird!" the girl called, her hands on her waist.

"Aiyannah, I don't think calling your penguin a 'stupid flightless bird' will make it listen to you…" Nora said, smiling at the girl. Nora had honey blond hair that reached her shoulders. She had blue-green eyes that sometimes reminded the girl of the lakes of Emain Macha. She wore a cream colored dress under a green apron that matched her eyes.

Aiyannah frowned. "But Nora…" she whined. The girl looked back up on the hill and noticed her penguin run off into the graveyard. "Come back here you stupid bird!" she yelled as she ran after it, leaving a giggling Nora.

"What's up with her?" a small girl asked from the windmill. She was a young girl wearing an old apron that's too big for her, and a worn out hat which covered most of her hair. She had cherry red eyes that were giving Nora an inquisitive look.

"Dewberry just ran off again Alissa… Nothing new," the woman chuckled.

"Ohh… I told her to keep it on a leash," Alissa muttered.

"Alissa!" Nora chided.

"Sorry…"

* * *

"Come back here you stupid bird!"

Squall turned around and saw no one. "Did you guys hear that?" the man asked to the others. They all shook their head.

"Must be the young ones," Duncan said, shrugging. "Anyway…"

* * *

"Dewberry! I order you to stay put!" she barked, but the bird still ran around the spider infested graveyard. Aiyannah chased after it, but the penguin proved to be too fast. "Damn it! Where's Mangosteen when you need her?" she screamed. The penguin exited the graveyard, running towards the chief's house, making the girl even angrier. "Don't you go there! You remember the last time you played there!" The bird stopped for a moment and faced her owner. The bird stuck out her tongue, (if that's possible) further infuriating Aiyannah. "Why you little…" The bird jumped up in surprise as she lunged for it. Dewberry ran away, squawking in triumph, toward the chief. Aiyannah picked herself up and ran after the bird again.

* * *

"Hey, do you hear that?" Tidus asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Hear what?" Luneth asked, cupping his hand around his ear. "Hey… is that a bird?" Luneth asked, pointing at the black and white bird near Zidane's tail.

"It's a penguin Luneth," Cloud corrected.

"Hey there lil fella," Terra cooed as she crouched down, petting it. The penguin paid no attention to the girl and stared at the swaying tail. "I think he likes you Zidane," she pointed out.

The genome turned around and smiled. "Hey, what do you know? I'm well- Yeow!" The bird bit on to his tail, making Zidane shout in pain. Aside from Zidane's cries, another voice grew louder and louder.

"Hey' isn't that De-" Duncan said, but was cut off.

"DEWBERRY!" an angered girl screamed, running towards the group.

"Oh! Aiyannah, I didn't know-" The girl collided with the ten warriors, pushing them off the hill and sending them rolling down the square.

"Aha! I finally caught you, you little brat!" Aiyannah cried in triumph, holding up the penguin, who was desperately trying to escape, with her two hands. "Now you little…" Aiyannah heard moans all around her and looked down. She saw ten people lying on the ground, holding their heads with their hands and rubbing their temples. "Oops," she squeaked. She glared t the penguin that was innocently looking at her. "I will so kill you later…" she threatened. She let go of her pet and set it down near the steps. "Stay there," she ordered. Aiyannah turned back to the people and helped them up. "I'm so sorry…" she whispered. "I didn't mean to…"

"AIYANNAH!" a voice boomed from atop the hill.

The said girl slowly turned her head and saw a very angry chief. "Oh, hi Chief Duncan. Fancy meeting you here…" she chuckled nervously, scratching the back of her head. The man beckoned for her to come up and she followed him. "Hehe, sorry 'bout that," she said sheepishly.

"You should be apologizing to them," he said, looking over at the ten people that were still in the square.

"I was just about to do that sir," she mumbled under her breath. "I'm very sorry for what happened. I won't let it happen again. Please forgive me," she said softly, bowing down, hand clasped together on front of her. She silently cursed her pet as she saw her smile _(if that's possible. How can birds smile with their hard beaks?)_. She felt something being placed on her head and straightened herself up, reaching up, feeling her flower.

"I think that belongs to you," a man carrying many weapons said as he patted it back into place. "There's no need for apologies," he said, smiling.

"B-But…" she stuttered.

"It was just an accident young one," a man in black armor said.

She shook her head. "But my penguin…"

"Was that your penguin?" a boy with a tail in his hands said. He shoved his tail in front of her face. "See what your pet did to my precious tail? He took a bite from it! Tell me, does it look like anything like food?" he ranted.

A brunette wearing the toga-like outfit pulled the boy away. "I'm sorry about that. He's a bit sensitive about his tail," he whispered.

"Sensitive? My tail's sensitive! That bite really hurt!"

The brunette rolled his eyes.

"Umm…" Aiyannah looked up at the other people. Man, were they… different. In Erinn, armors weren't really that bad, but something was just different about them. "New arrivals?" she asked sheepishly. They all nodded. "So that explains it…"

"Aiyannah!"

The girl stiffened. "Coming~!" she chimed as she hastily grabbed her penguin and ran up the steps, raising the skirt of her robes a bit so she wouldn't trip. "I said sorry already. Please forgive me. Ohpleaseohpleaseohplease!" she pleaded in a flurry of words. The man rolled his eyes and raised a hand, silencing the girl.

"I thought you were off to Iria," Duncan casually said.

"Uhh… Umm… I… You're not mad?"

"No, as long as you apologized," the older man said, patting her head. "Now, what stories do you have to tell your old friend?"

The girl smiled and started to tell him everything she had seen in the new continent. She excitedly told him her travels across different lands, and her encounters with different people and monsters. "Iria is so amazing and full of wonders Duncan. I hope you could go there someday," she said as she looked up into the sky, thinking of all the wonderful things she'd seen.

Duncan chuckled at the girl's enthusiasm. "Well Aiyannah, my age and my job as the chief prevents me from going on adventures, unlike you."

"Umm, Sir Duncan?" Light called. "I'm sorry to interrupt your reunion but-"

"Oh no, no, no… It's alright." Duncan pulled the girl closer to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Everyone, this is Aiyannah, a good friend of mine. She might look young, but she's one hell of a fighter and explorer. Aiyannah, these here are new comers."

"So I've heard," she said, looking at the people she pushed over again.

"Hello Aiyannah. My name's Zidane Tribal," the boy with the tail said. "I'm sorry for my sudden outburst a while ago…" He inched closer beside the girl and looked at her suggestively. "Are you busy later on?"

The girl covered her mouth with a hand, muffling her giggles. "I'm sorry, but nothing can replace exploration in my heart."

"I'm Luneth," the other boy said. He looked down with a worried expression and turned to her again. "I think your penguin's suffocating." Aiyannah looked down and saw that she was hugging her pet a little too tightly.

"My name's Terra Branford" the lone woman said, a smile on her face. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Cloud Strife," the blond man with spiky hair said.

"Cecil Harvey," the dark knight said.

"I'm Firion," the man with many weapons introduced himself.

"I'm Tidus," the other blond said.

"Squall Leonhart" the brunette wearing a black jacket mumbled.

"I'm Bartz Klauser. How do you do?" the other brunette said.

"And I'm the Warrior of Light," the man wearing a helmet finally said.

Aiyannah gave him a questioning look. "Call him Light for short," Bartz said.

"Though you can call him Quinn if you want," Zidane snickered. Light shot Zidane a glare, silencing him.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name's Aiyannah, Aiyannah Aurora Sylveria," Aiyannah said sweetly. She looked at the shadows and frowned. "But I need to go now. I have some part-times to do…" She crouched down and set her penguin on her feet. "Tell Caramely to be in charge alright? I'll call you guys when I need you." With that, the penguin ran off, squawking. She quickly stood up and dusted her hands. "I'll be-"

"Aiyannah?"

"Yes chief?" she said, turning around, mocking a small salute.

"How 'bout you show them around," the old man said, gesturing at the warriors.

"Ei?" she said in surprise. She glanced at them uneasily and let out a sigh of defeat. "Fine. I'll give them a tour of the whole Uladh continent," she said, rubbing the back of her head. "See ya around Duncan!" she said as she headed up north. The other warriors nodded towards the old man and caught up with Aiyannah. "First stop, the Healer's." The girl chuckled and turned around, now walking back wards as she talked to them. "Dilys'll get a heart attack. Haha." The girl turned around again, skipping towards a small building. "Here we are~!" she sang. She opened the door. "Oh Dilys~!"

In the middle of the room stood a tall and slim in a green healer dress. Her dark bobbed hair falling to her neck is neatly combed, and her brown eyes shimmered as she smiled at the girl in the door way. "Aiyannah~!" she chimed as she hugged the girl. "Are you alright? Did you get hurt? You should have called me! Do you have any wounds? Are you sick? Do you need a check up?" she quickly said, inspecting the girl for any injuries.

"Told ya," she chuckled, looking over her shoulders towards the others. "I'm fine Dilys," she said, prying away from the healer's grasp. "By the way, these are some new friends of mine. Duncan asked me to show them around."

Dilys looked over the girl and indeed saw other people. "Hello there. I'm Dilys, this town's healer. If you need to buy any potions or need any treatment, feel free to come to me anytime," she said sweetly. "Though it does cost you some money. An HP potion is worth 140 gold each, while a bandage is 250 per five pieces. A full treatment would cost you 90 gold though," she said.

"Rip off…" Aiyannah murmured under her breath. Dilys shot her a glare, making her smile ruefully. "Anyway, this is Light, Firion, Luneth, Cecil, Bartz, Terra, Cloud, Squall, Zidane and Tidus." The healer nodded in acknowledgement. "Oh yeah, I need ten HP potions Dilys. Here's the money."

Dilys gave her the potions, giving her a look. "I don't understand why you still buy potions when you can heal yourself."

Aiyannah shrugged. "It uses too much energy." She turned around, skipping out. "See ya Dilys!"

"Take care!" the healer called, waving good bye.

Out on the road, Aiyannah waved at a man who was standing near the healer's house and giggled. "Who's that?" Luneth asked, falling in step with Aiyannah.

"That's Trefor. He's like the guard here," she answered, shrugging. She noticed a few foxes following Terra, making the half esper a little wary. "Don't worry about them. They're weak lil things. They won't attack unless you do," she explained. "You don't mind a bit of walking do you?" she asked, not bothering to turn around.

"No," Light answered. "We've been on a journey ourselves before we arrived here in your world."

"Erinn." Aiyannah said.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Erinn. This planet is called Erinn," she explained, turning around and digging into her pocket, producing a small folded piece of worn out paper. "This is a map of the world. I'd like to explain in to you guys, but the nearest library is in Dunbarton. The school here is only for magic and combat. No books." She passed the paper around. "Please take care of that. It's been to places none of you have ever dreamed of going."

"So you're saying we're here, in the north of this small piece of land?" Squall said, pointing at the spot that said 'Tir Chonaill.' Aiyannah nodded. "Then what's Sidhe Sneachta?" The girl looked up in thought.

"It would be hard to explain. It's better if you see him with your own eyes…" she drifted off. "Oh well, I'll introduce you to the other villagers for the mean time since it's too early!" she said, skipping down the road. She led them to Malcolm, the general shop owner, Caitin, manager of the grocery store, Bebhinn, manager of the Erskin Bank in the village, Alissa, the windmill operator that sorta likes Luneth, Lassar, the magic teacher who now hates Zidane, Ranald, the combat teacher, Ferghus, the ever hated blacksmith, Nora and Piaras, the innkeepers, Endelyon, the local priestess, Meven, the local priest and Deian, the cocky shepherd boy. "Alrighty then," Aiyannah sighed as she stretched from side to side. "Off to Tarlach!"

"Who's Tarlach?" Cecil asked, following right behind their guide.

"He is a great druid. You can call him a mage as well. He is skilled in magic," Aiyannah explained. "He was one of the three missing warriors who went off to Tir Na Nog in order to save Goddess Morrighan, the goddess of war and vengeance. It was thought that they died; all three of them. Mari, a young but great archer. Ruairi, a master of hand to hand combat. Tarlach the great druid." Aiyannah shook her head, "Maybe this isn't the time to tell you that story," she said, smiling towards them. Her smile faded when she saw confused looks. "What?"

"Why would someone want to save a goddess of war and revenge?" Terra asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"You misunderstand," she giggled, lightly shaking her head. "Morrighan is not a goddess that would send forth destruction. No, that's Cichol's and Macha's job. Morrighan, on the other hand, tended to the wounded soldiers back during the great wars," she explained.

"But-"

"But nothing. Morrighan is a kind goddess. She is the kindest amongst the three goddesses of war," Aiyannah said, stopping in front of a seal, hands on her waist. "Here we are, the entrance to Sidhe Sneachta. You guys alright with cold?" she asked, looking over her shoulder.

"We don't mind," Tidus said, shrugging.

The purple eyed girl smirked. "Alrighty then. Coyotes are inside so please be careful. There's another seal like this inside that's going to lead us to Tarlach." She gazed up at the setting sun and narrowed her eyes. "We should hurry up for you guys to see something cool," she said, skipping into the seal, disappearing. The warriors looked at each other, doubting, but nevertheless, went in. They were greeted by the gust of cold wind and snowflakes falling. They saw the girl already a few feet ahead of them and tried to catch up with her.

"Aiyannah, wait up!" Luneth called, running after the skipping girl while dodging the snowmen everywhere.

The girl turned around and raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Oh! Am I too fast?" she asked, putting a finger against her cheek, innocently looking at them. "I can slow down if you want… But then you won't see it."

"See what?" Cecil asked, now in his paladin form.

Aiyannah narrowed her eyes at the white knight. "Weren't you in the black armor a while ago?" she asked, pointing a finger at him. Cecil was about to say something, but the girl shook her head. "Never mind that! Come on!" she said, running this time towards the seal.

"She's a lively one ain't she?" Firion commented, running after the girl.

"She sure is," Cloud mumbled.

"But doesn't she give you a sense of peace inside? She has something in her that just makes you see in a brighter light," Terra said, a smile on her lips. "She's lucky to live in such a peaceful world…"

The warriors entered the next seal and found themselves in a forest path. Aiyannah was already ahead of them, hurrying, skipping and humming at the same time.

"Tarlach~!" she called, her hands around her mouth. The ten warriors stopped in their tracks as a big brown bear that was standing on some sort of altar came into view. Aiyannah squealed in delight as she saw the animal and wrapped her arms around it, nuzzling into its fur. The bear let out a small groan, its eyes rolling. "I'm so glad we caught you in your bear form!" The bear looked at her questioningly and noticed the people she was with. It nodded towards their direction and closed its eyes. "Aww~" the girl whined.

A bright light surrounded the bear, blinding everyone, making them shield their eyes and take a step back. "I'm surprised that these new comers are already capable of entering this place," a man's voice said in mild interest. The people looked up and no longer saw a bear. Instead, they saw a tall man with wavy blond hair and glasses in a brown robe. "My name is Tarlach."

"Was he…" Luneth asked. His question was immediately answered by a nod. "But how?"

Tarlach looked at them, then at Aiyannah. He turned to them again with an apologetic look. "It's a story too long for me to tell given the amount of time that I have as a human," he said. "But I think this fine young lady over here would be glad to tell you the whole story. She's such a chatter box," he teased, making Aiyannah frown.

"I'll tell you guys when we get to the inn," she said. "I'll tell you guys everything that you want to know."

"So what brings you here to this desolate frozen land?" the druid asked.

"Nothing really," the girl shrugged. "Just wanted to visit you and show these guys something cool."

Tarlach raised an eyebrow. "You think me changing forms is cool?"

The girl ignored the question, already turning around and heading towards the exit. "See ya Tarlach!" she called, waving. The warriors bid farewell to the lone druid and followed after their guide. "You guys tired?" she asked as they exited Sidhe Sneachta. She turned around and saw that Terra was already fighting her eyes to stay open. "It's just a short walk back to the in. Don't worry. I'll take care of all the expenses since you guys seem to be broke," she said, walking down the road.

"Hey, what's this?" Bartz asked, looking at a portal that had a large blue stone chained to two stone posts.

"That's the moon gate. It's the fastest way to get from one point to another here in Uladh. The only thing is that it only works during the night, and that you have no choice in where you go. There's a fixed schedule as to where the moon gates would lead," she explained.

"How interesting…" Firion murmured. "So where do they lead to now?"

"They should be going to Port Ceann. It's a port for ships that would be heading off to Port Qilla in Iria," she casually said, turning to the right. "Here we are. Come on in."

They entered the building and saw Piaras behind the counter. "Our biggest rooms are for only four people," he told Aiyannah. "You can take two and take another room that can hold three people." Aiyannah nodded. "That would be 2,750 gold." Zidane widened his eyes as he saw the small pouch filled with money being handed over. "Here's the keys," he said, handing over three keys. "You know your way already lil missy."

"Come on guys," she said as she climbed up the stairs. "This is a kinda small inn, so they only have eight rooms. Two singles, two doubles, two for three people, and two for four people… Hope you don't mind," she said, opening one of the doors on the right. "Here's the room for three…" she turned to the two doors in front of the room and opened them as well. "… and here's for the four." She crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. "Now, who gets to sleep where… By default, me and Terra are going to go together. Any one wants to join us?"

"Umm… Aiyannah. Let the child stay with us…" Terra suggested.

The girl looked at the two shortest in the group. "Which child?"

"Luneth."

Aiyannah looked at the boy in red armor and sighed. "Yeah, he'll do. You guys decide on who sleeps where," she said, throwing the other two keys towards them as she entered the three-person room. "Wake up early alright? Dunbarton's pretty far, so we should have an early start. G'night!" she slammed the door in front of the guys' faces. It was decided that Cloud, Squall, Bartz and Zidane would share a form while Firion, Light, Cecil and Tidus would share the other. Back inside the girls plus Luneth's room, they were already getting ready for bed.

"That was a long day!" Luneth said, taking of his helmet.

"Mhmm," Terra agreed, sitting on her bed.

"Tomorrow's gonna be longer. I'm going to bring you the library so you can learn some stuff about Erinn," Aiyannah said, lying down on her bed, staring at the ceiling, hands cradling her head. "So tell me, who are you guys exactly?" she asked, turning to her side.

"We're the Warriors of Cosmos, the goddess of harmony," Luneth replied. "We just won a war against Chaos, the god of discord."

"Cosmos and Chaos? Never heard of 'em," the girl sighed.

"We stumbled here by accident. Before we came to this village we met a woman and child," Terra said.

"Nao and Tin… Figures," she muttered. "I'm calling it a day," she announced, pulling the blanket over her shoulder. "G'night…"

"Sweet dreams Aiyannah…" Terra whispered.

The night was calm and quiet, but Aiyannah still woke up in the middle of the night. She rubbed her eyes awake as she sat up. Her friends were still asleep and she decided not to wake them with her tossing and turning in her bed. She stepped into her boots and went out for a midnight walk. It was cold, the moon nice and full, like always.

Sleep wasn't really important for the likes of her, a Milletian. Food and sleep weren't needs for her. She considered them as a hindrance when she should be off travelling the world and getting into trouble. She took in a deep breath, the nice cool air calming her down. She raised her eyebrows when she saw a person run past her, heading for the fields. Another went by, then two, then three. She was about to stop another one to ask questions, but when she heard the growls echo, she licked her lips and grinned.

"Maybe a few giant wolves would get me going…" she chuckled as she ran towards the direction of the fields, her swords in her hands.

* * *

_Bored… bored… bored…_

_This fic was the product of a black out in my neighborhood so, yeah…_


	3. Chapter 2

Aiyannah quietly went up the old wooden stairs that led up to the inn's rooms. But even though she lightly stepped on the wooden surface, a small creek would echo in the corridor. With a frustrated sigh, she gave up on trying to keep quiet and went up the stairs with heavy footsteps. She had just finished hunting the giant wolves and was very beat. She couldn't remember how many times she was knocked unconscious, but thankfully, someone was there to help her up.

She turned at the corner where their rooms were and paled at the sight of a man standing at the end of the hall with his arms crossed. There was barely any sunlight, but she could make out the scar that ran down his face. "Good morning Mr. Grouchy?" she greeted in a questioning, not-so-sure tone.

Squall examined her and noted that she had changed clothes. Gone were the conservative, priestess clothes. She now wore an armor that had a metal bodice and a black mini skirt. Light blue cloth with black trimmings was attached to the bodice and ended just below her knees. Metal bands were located on her upper arm while a black cloth covered the length of her arm downwards. She wore the same blue boots over black, thigh-high socks and fashioned a blue goggle cap of the same hue.

"Where did you go?" the gunblader asked. It wasn't his nature to ask of such trivial things, but the scratches on her armor were making him a little alert. The two swords that hung from her waist didn't help either.

"Oh, I went hunting wolves," she explained while looking at the ceiling, as if the answer was there. "Giant wolves, mind you… They only come once in a while, so… why not take the chance to flex those muscles?" she ended as she placed a hand on her bicep.

"Whatever…" came his cold reply.

Aiyannah looked out the window and saw the sun quickly rising. She marveled at the changing sky. First it was dark blue, and then purple, then pink, then orange then oddly turned into light blue. "Are you hungry?" she asked from out of the blue. Squall blinked at the sudden question. "Well, I'm not. It's just common courtesy for me to ask if you were," she added.

It was then when Squall felt and heard the low grumble of his stomach. Aiyannah merely smiled as the gunblader turned away in embarrassment. "I'm going to look for something to eat. You wake up the others and pack up. Do you still remember the bank? Meet me there," she instructed.

"It's just uphill from here, right?" Squall asked. Aiyannah nodded. The girl looked at her money bag before rushing down stairs. He shook his head when he heard her fall and Piaras scolding her, saying something about stabbing herself.

"What wazzat?" Tidus sleepily asked, obviously woken up by the racket. His eyes were barely open and he himself was threatening to topple over.

"Is everything alright?" Terra quietly asked as she peeked from her room. She looked from side to side. "Have you seen Aiyannah?"

"NU-uh," Tidus replied.

"She went out to buy us some food. She asked us to pack up and go to the bank. She said she'd meet us there," Squall told the esper.

"But I'm still sleepy," Zidane whined as he peeked out of the door opposite to Tidus'.

"I say we better get moving," Firion said, already dressed and ready to go.

The blitzball player looked at his comrade with a raised eyebrow. "That was quick."

"What is all the noise about?" Cloud mumbled as he pushed Zidane out of the way. "What's wrong Squall?"

"Nothing's wrong," Luneth said as he exited his and Terra's room in full armor. "Aiyannah just wants us to get going."

"We have no problem with that," Firion said as he gestured to Cecil and Light who were prepared as well.

"Dibs on the shower!" Bartz yelled from inside the room. Cloud and Squall shook their heads while Zidane rushed, in saying 'No fair!'.

Soon enough, they were all set and were already by the bank. They saw Aiyannah lying on the green grass with a bag right beside her. When they stepped closer, they noticed that she was staring at a flower that she twirled with her fingers.

"Aiyannah!" Luneth called, disturbing the girl from her moment and peace. The girl was a bit surprised, making her jolt upright, her hat falling off. She smiled and waved at them, motioning for them to come nearer. She patted the grass off of her cap and placed it back on her head.

"G' morning guys… Sorry I had to leave early," she greeted as she started laying down the food. There was rice, coffee, milk, juice, eggs, meat, bread and whatnot. "I didn't know what to make, but since you told me you just came from a war, you must be hungry." She let a sly smile cross her lips. "And of course, Squall's stomach made that very clear to me," she added quickly.

Squall sent a silent glare towards her while Zidane and Bartz seized the moment and laughed. Aiyannah merely tilted her head to one side, feigning innocence.

They heard a small hum of satisfaction and turned to Tidus who already took a plate of meat and rice. "This is really good," he commented.

"Mmm… Tasty," Terra said. "Who taught you how to cook? Your mother?" Aiyannah laughed at the question, drawing a confused look from the esper. "Did I say something funny?"

"Oh no," she reassured her. "It's just that here, we don't' have anything like moms or dads. Nao just said that I came from another world when I was ten." Everybody then looked at her. "Hey, maybe from your world you have parents, but here, you don't. All Milletians, including me, are foreigners to this world. We all came here with the promise of a better life… according to the Goddess Morrighan. Duncan and Nora are Tuatha De Dananns, the locals. They're here to help new migrants, but it won't be enough to save you sometimes," she said in a more serious tone. And just as abruptly as she became serious, she flashed a smile. "That's why I travel the world. Now," she said as she clapped her hands, "finish off your food and we'll be able to leave for Dunbarton."

The warriors, after eating their fill, were soon up and ready to leave. Aiyannah bid a quick good bye to Chief Duncan before heading south towards the pastures.

"The wolves are quite hostile. Please keep things to yourselves as much as possible," the silver-haired girl instructed. Aiyannah darted her purple eyes from side to side, checking for any danger. Usually, she would have just waltzed right into the wolf-infested area, but today, she had a large group. They looked pretty tough, but who knows…

"How far is this… Dunbarton?" Cecil asked as they came to a tree-lined dirt road.

"It's about a four hour walk… but by horse, it would only take about an hour," Aiyannah said as she looked at them sheepishly. "I would have lent you some horses if I had some. I'm very sorry."

"No need to be sorry Aiyannah," Firion said from behind the girl. "We're already overstaying our welcome with you being our guide around the world. To provide us transportation and food is already too much."

"Aww… It's no big deal really…" the girl said as she rubbed the back of her head. "I needed something to do anyway." Aiyannah momentarily froze. She looked from side to side, her hand hovering over her sword. She noticed a few weak raccoons and a lone wolf. A stray sheep and a dog lazily stood by the side, occasionally moving from one point to another.

"Is everything alright?" Light asked. The girl took one more look behind her and smiled at the armor-clad warrior.

"Everything's just peachy," she chimed as she waved her hand from side to side.

"Where do we go from here?" Cloud asked in a monotone voice. He looked as troubled as Aiyannah. His glowing blue eyes darted from side to side and his movements were unusually stiff.

"We just head south according to the map," Zidane said as he turned the old paper in his hands. "Hey Aiyannah, how old _is_ this thing?" he asked as he turned the map towards her. The girl gasped as she searched the bag that was slung around her. After a meticulous search, the girl turned to Zidane with a very annoyed look.

"_Nobody_ takes my map without permission," she said in a very cold way as she took the paper from the gnome's hand. "Anyway, yeah, due south. It's the only way there anyway. We'll encounter a logging camp and that's where the road divides. One leads to the residential area; the other leads to Dunbarton; and the other leads to Silad Cuilin that leads to Taillteann." The girl put the map back in her bag and dusted of her hands. "Let's go?" she asked cheerfully as she started leading the way.

The warriors followed her obediently, discussing among themselves. Bartz, ever curious, fell into step with Aiyannah. "So, what do you have here in this world?" he asked.

"Oh the usual…" she started, "Monsters to kill, people asking you to do stuff and travelling." Aiyannah fell quiet for a moment. '_And secrets… Don't forget secrets.'_ "Uladh is boring compared to Iria, but Iria isn't really that developed yet so most of the commercial stuff happens here."

A strange sensation went up Aiyannah's spine once again. The logging camp wasn't that far anymore. In truth, she could already make out the huge old tree that stood there. She could hear the faint clucks of the chickens and see the large family of raccoons that lived there. So far, she couldn't _see_ anything dangerous, but she could _feel_ it. Just as they were approaching the wide clearing, Aiyannah widened her violet eyes.

"Stop!" she shouted, her arms extending to the side and halting the others. "Something's not right…"

"What's the matter?" Luneth asked, his green eyes worriedly scanning the area. There was nothing he could see that could set off the alarms in their guide's head, or for anyone for that matter. It was perfectly calm.

"I am truly amazed…" a deep voice said. It seemed to come from everywhere and echoed with an eeriness that made the hair on all of their backs stand. "Morrighan has proven her ignorance once again…" A cloaked figure with white wings materialized from nowhere and stood in front of the group, blocking their way. Aiyannah took a step back, gritting her teeth.

"Cichol," the girl acknowledged as she slowly dropped her hands. "What business do you have here?" she demanded.

The god chuckled. "To tell you my plans would be a waste, but of course, Morrighan's death and Erinn's destruction is part of my scheme," he said.

"Then surely you have nothing to do we us," Aiyannah countered. The people behind her were getting nervous, wondering who the person was. Fed up with the mystery, Light decided to intervene.

"Who are you?" the warrior asked, stepping forward. The girl turned to the side, her face in a visible frown as she watched him.

Cichol turned to him, his face still covered by the hood of his robe. "I'm Cichol, God of the Fomors," he said. "The one who brought the ten of you here." The god could sense the shock in them and couldn't help but feel amused. "Unfortunately, this lost knight came across you, complicating things," he added, motioning a gloved hand towards Aiyannah.

"What do you want from us?" Terra croaked from behind Cloud.

"I have no time for this," Cichol muttered, "I hoped that this would go as planned, but you-" Cichol turned to Aiyannah "- had to intervene, so I have no choice." As if on cue, several men in dark armor appeared in a black mist that surrounded all of them.

Aiyannah glared at the god for complicating her life once more. She smoothly took out her swords and twirled them a bit to get comfortable. She glanced around and discovered they were gravely outnumbered. "What are you orchestrating you wretched god…"

"I will continue what Chaos had started." The ten Warriors of Cosmos looked up.

"Impossible," Zidane cried out.

"I fear that it is Zidane… Now," Aiyannah turned to the dark warriors around them, "show me what made you warriors of your goddess 'cause we have to fight our way through." She murmured a few words and five balls of light appeared and rotated around her while emitting a cold aura. She sent the orbs in quick succession towards the knights, knocking it back. Other dark warriors started come after her, but she dropped down to the ground and spun, knocking them all back. Another knight charged from behind her but Cloud blocked it and sent it sliding back. The two nodded in acknowledgement as they started fighting back-to-back.

Terra sent numerous bursts of water from the ground, sending some of the dark warriors up into the air. Firion came in and shot arrows at each one of them. The half-esper then casted another spell and produced five white orbs that homed in on each of the air-borne knights. Terra then called for lightning, sending them back crashing to the ground.

Squall and Cecil were backing each other up as warriors surrounded them. Everyone had their hands full. It seemed as though they kept coming and coming and didn't die. It took a considerable amount of energy before one of them to fall, only to be replaced by more.

"How is it possible that no one's noticing us?" Tidus grunted as he slashed his sword down, killing one of them.

"Because events like these are considered normal," Aiyannah angrily explained at the top of her voice. "What's not normal is Cichol being here." Aiyannah widened her eyes and ducked as a blade came hovering near her head.

"You seem to be more troublesome than I expected," Cichol noted. "No matter, I have a solution to this minor situation." Another wave of dark soldiers and dark warriors came. They looked no different, but Aiyannah knew better. One of the newly summoned knights managed to land a hit on Bartz and froze.

"_Petrify!"_ Aiyannah screamed in her mind.

"Aiyannah, I am surprised that you haven't used the power of the Knight of Light," the God of the Fomors said. "Are you not going to use that power to save your friends, before you become swallowed by the darkness you carry?" Aiyannah turned and saw Terra and Cecil be petrified, struggling desperately to get out of their solitary state.

"Don't rush me," she dryly replied as white light started to envelope her. With a burst of light, the girl turned into a woman in armor of the purest of white with intricate patterns engraved. Her comrades paused for a moment, marveling at her transformation. "By the way, I'm not going to give in. I'm not weak and I'm not a fool to try." She took a combat stance and wisps of gray, red and blue energy emerged under her feet. The girl disappeared and reappeared in front of one of the knights and finished him in a few quick slashes. She teleported to the next, but as she crossed swords, another one of the creatures charged at her. It was a moment too late when she felt pain.

"Final hit," Cichol mentioned. "An attack that allows the person to keep attacking with swords, granting the ability to teleport a distance, but leaving the user to open to other attacks." Aiyannah breathed heavily as she watched the rest fall to the spell. A foot came into her view and she looked up, seeing the hidden face of the god. "I should have finished you back then… I will correct that mistake." A huge fireball started form above his head, aiming it for the paladin. "Once again, Morrighan had proven her incompetence in being a goddess. She has forsaken you."

The fireball fell and hit Aiyannah dead on. The girl felt her armor disappear and the searing heat. Through her blurred vision, she could see her frozen, horrified comrades watch as they were dragged away into a black portal. The raging flames around her were the last of what she saw before being overcome by the darkness that provided her an escape from the pain.

* * *

"_Aiyannah…" a calm voice called. The girl stirred and soon woke up, finding herself in what seemed to be a flooded marble garden. Aiyannah wearily turned and saw a woman in a white gown sitting on a throne-like structure. She first thought it was Morrighan, but the lack of the goddess' black wings and dark hair proved her wrong. She slowly made her way closer, her hand reaching out._

"_Who are you?" Aiyannah heard her own voice and couldn't believe it. It sounded hoarse, cracked and dry._

"_I am Cosmos, Goddess of Harmony," the woman replied though her voice carried a certain sadness._

"_C-Cosmos?" she stuttered. Her purple eyes drifted to the coming dark wind. From the black mist came a woman she knew all too well. Black wings stretched themselves, their full length made visible to others before relaxing and retracting. Aiyannah felt herself step back before bowing down. "Morrighan."_

"_Yes Aiyannah…" the Goddess of War and Vengeance replied. The deity heaved a long sigh before turning to her warrior, her pale eyes, although unseeing, fell onto Aiyannah. "It is with a heavy heart that I include you again in such a perilous journey," she stated. "As you know, your friends have been taken by Cichol."_

_The girl straightened herself up and looked at the two goddesses. "What does he plan with them?"_

_Cosmos glanced at Morrighan before speaking. "Right now, my warriors have in their possession the crystals to their respective worlds which are also a fragment of my powers. Cichol plans to use them in order to take over your world and finally destroy my warriors," the Goddess of Harmony explained with a pained look on her face._

"_Why not just take the crystals and kill them afterwards? Why take them now?" Aiyannah asked, a still bit confused by everything that was happening around her._

"_When we say 'destroy', we don't mean kill Aiyannah," Morrighan told her. "We mean, he will destroy the light within them and…"_

"_Turn him into his own warriors," Cosmos sadly said, finishing the other deity's statement._

"_A-a… Dark Knight?" the girl managed to spit out after a few moments of processing. "But, is that possible? Surely, Cichol wouldn't have that kind of power, right?" she tried to argue, "Light and the others wouldn't give in without a fight either." The two goddesses looked at each other, a mixture of grief, worry and pain in their faces. Aiyannah had never seen Morrighan look that desperate. She had always managed to maintain a calm exterior, but right now, the wall of calm seemed to crack and crumble slowly. The lone warrior couldn't stand such sadness, but in her heart, she felt her own light struggling to shine through the darkness that was persistently trying to take over._

"_We need you," Cosmos stated. In her blue eyes, Aiyannah could see what the goddess had endured for her beloved warriors._

_The girl sighed in defeat. "What do I have to do?" The goddess turned to her, a glimmer of hope in her eyes._

"_You have to find them," Morrighan instructed, "We managed to interfere while Cichol tried to transport them to his lair, but we could only do so much. The two of us are still recovering." Aiyannah flashed at how she had freed the black-haired goddess from her prison not too long ago. "We made an effort to send them to somewhere safe, but it seems as though they had scattered throughout Erinn."_

"_You have to track them down before Cichol does," Cosmos interjected._

_Aiyannah frowned. "How do I out run a god?"_

_Morrighan smiled for the first time during their encounter. "The same way you intervened with Esras."_

_Aiyannah's frown didn't disappear. "But Esras wasn't a god!" she countered, but she realized that it was a vain attempt. She could see her own hands starting to disappear._

"_You'll know what to do," Cosmos encouraged, smiling slightly as well. "Good luck, Aiyannah."_

* * *

"Aiyannah! Aiyannah! Wake up!"

The girl forced her eyes open, only to be blinded by the bright light of the sun overhead. She rubbed her eyes and tried to look again, now seeing a blurred shadow. She closed her eyes and tried again, now seeing the finer details of the person's face. "Chriselda?" she croaked.

The elf twitched her pointed ears in relief. "Thank goodness you're alright!" she exclaimed. The elf stood up and offered a hand to Aiyannah. The latter took it immediately and felt herself being pulled up. "Now what happened to you? You look uninjured, but you end up getting knocked out. How in the world is that possible?" the girl ranted.

Aiyannah looked down and assessed herself. She let out a small surprised gasp as she found herself, and her armor, in perfect condition. "I-I…" All of a sudden, everything crashed back down into her mind. She immediately grabbed her friend by the arms and looked into her wide mary-rose pink eyes. "Morrighan! She says Erinn's in trouble, and so are my friends! Cichol plans to turn them into dark knights!"

"Oh, the world's in trouble again?" the elf laughed.

"I'm serious Chriselda!" the girl shouted, slightly shaking her friend. "My friends aren't normal Milletians!"

"Hmpf! I am so a Milletian!" Chriselda argued.

"Chriselda! You're not taking this seriously!" Aiyannah said, her voice a bit too loud to be considered pleasant as she stomped her foot.

"Alright, alright… Take it easy," the dirty blond elf said as she motioned for her friend to sit down. "Okay, tell me everything," she said as she sat down. Aiyannah looked at her with a troubled face before telling her what had happened. At first, Chriselda thought her friend had just lost it, but soon, she started to feel a bit concerned about what was happening.

"So you're telling me you have to find them? What is this, a treasure hunt?" she said dryly. She abruptly stood up and dusted off her armor. The elf wore armor with a pink leather bodice and a white skirt. Plates of metal of the purest white hung at her hips and the same material formed the sleeves and collar of her ensemble. She wore matching pink sandals that had its straps wrapping her leg just below her knee. A white and pink leather long bow was strapped to her back with her quiver full of arrows. She had her rich blond hair in a bun of braids with a few falling down to her nape. Her small pointed ears and triangular tattoos on her face identified her as a member of the elves. "Gods.." she muttered.

Aiyannah stood up and frowned. "What's worse is that I don't have a clue where they are!" she wailed. "They could be anywhere! The Ant Hell Caves, Nubes Mountains, the Solea Underground Tunnels, not to mention the dungeons!"

"Calm down girl… We'll figure this out," Chriselda said in an attempt to calm her human friend down. "Anyway, we should bet start looking. We don't want Cichol to get to them first right?"

Aiyannah nodded. "Right."

* * *

_Well, after a few… months(?) at least I managed to update this. Hope you like it. I kinda have writer's block. It might explain some grammar and spelling mistakes and confusion._


	4. Chapter 3

Aiyannah almost cried when she dropped down onto the library's floor, a book in her hands. The two of them had been in the said room for two days. Chriselda went out occasionally, but Aiyannah refused to leave. She was turning desperate now. The longer they took to find any clues, the more likely Cichol had already found them. Aiyannah had looked through over hundreds of books concerning spells, history, Fomors, but none of them proved to be of any help. For the second time in her life, she felt helpless.

"Hey Chris? You find anything?" Aiyannah asked, forcing back the sobs that were fighting their way out.

"Nope. Nada," the elf replied as she shook her head. The elf looked at her friend with sad eyes, knowing what she must be going through. They had been friends since Chriselda had saved her from a sand storm in Longa. Aiyannah was making her way to Filia when she was suddenly in a horrible sand storm.

Lucky for her, Chriselda happened to pass by on her horse. She found the human lying on the ground, seeming to be lifeless. The elf had quickly slung her upon her horse and dashed back to the elven town of Filia.

"Y'know what Nana?" Chriselda began after reminiscing that fateful day.

"Don't call me that!" the silverette hissed, throwing a pencil towards her friend.

Chriselda dodged the projectile with ease and sighed. "We're not getting anywhere. Literally. I bet my Spirit Weapon that we'll have better luck going from town to town and ask around. That always works." She put back the book in her hands on the shelf and sighed again. She walked back to her friend to who was still on the floor and patted her head. "I bet you already miss the feel of the wind hitting your face," she said with a knowing smile.

Aiyannah continued with her brooding and weighed her options. The elf had a point, but would aimlessly going from town to town really work? She had experienced such thing and she succeeded in her task, but would it really work this time? Would the gods give her the same luck?

For the first time in two days, Aiyannah smiled. "Yeah, I miss the fresh air," she agreed with a nod. Chriselda smiled and offered her hand. The girl happily took it and pulled herself up. "Yeah, I _have_ been cooped up in this room for quite a long time now huh?"

"Two days? Yeah, that's a new record for you," the elf laughed. "The longest time you've stayed in one place as far as I know is an hour." The purple-eyed girl pouted and playfully punched her on the arm. Chriselda feigned hurt and started whimpering. After a few moments the two girly burst into laughter. Their joy, however, was brought abruptly to an end when they heard someone clear their throat.

"Um…" the man by the door mumbled, his head lowering as he felt their gazes fall on him.

"Need anything Stewart?" Aiyannah asked politely, taking a step closer towards the librarian and magic shop owner of the town.

"I don't mean to be rude, but this _is_ a library," Stewart reminded them as he pushed up his glasses that were slipping down his nose again. The two ladies nodded, earning them a warm smiled from the man. "Alright then, did you find what you were looking for?" The pair visibly saddened at his question, Stewart giving them weird looks at their expressions. "Nothing, I assume? Are you planning on staying here a bit longer? I could ask… Aeria, for some books if you'd like."

The elf shook her head, her blonde braids moving with her. "No thanks, we decided that we'll just go about asking…"

Stewart nodded at their answer, seeing the logic behind it. After all, if they were looking for something somewhere in Erinn, they shouldn't expect that everything would be in a library. "Well, whatever you're looking for, I hope you find it."

Aiyannah's gaze softened. _'I hope so too…'_ As soon as Stewart had left the room, they started cleaning up. They picked up the dozens of books they had pulled out of the shelves and put them back in their respective places. A book caught Aiyannah's eyes when she was checking through all the titles on one of the shelves. The spine bore no title, just a golden print of some feather-like thing on the top, and another print of a spiky cross. Out of curiosity, she took hold of it and pulled it out.

The book was covered with blue leather and was obviously aged. It was sealed by a golden buckle on the side that was engraved with figures that were too small to distinguish. Aiyannah carefully undid the buckle and slowly opened it. What she found, though, was completely unexpected. There, on the first page, and for the following pages for that matter, was nothing. The edges of the pages were clearly worn down by numerous years and hands, yet no writing or image was to be seen.

'_Strange…'_

"Aiyannah, let's get going!" Chriselda called from the door. "What's the hold up? Don't make me drag you!" Aiyannah rolled her eyes as she heard someone shush her friend from the corridor. Chriselda quickly apologized to whoever it was and looked expectantly at her friend while tapping her foot.

Aiyannah turned back to the book and looked around. _'It's only Chriselda, so it'll be alright…'_ she thought as she stowed the book away in her bag. Surely, no one would miss it, right? Why would anyone care for a blank old book anyway? _'Why would _I_ care to take it anyway?'_

* * *

The pair had walked and talked to everyone in town that they could see. Even innocent bystanders were not saved from their intriguing, if not seemingly crazy, questions. After asking almost everyone though, they came up empty handed.

The two girls settled themselves near the moon gate for the night. Chriselda was happy with watching the stars twinkle and the clouds go by, while Aiyannah was in her own world.

'_What should I do? Where should I go? How can I learn anything if not one of them know what I'm talking about?'_ she ranted inside her mind. Indeed, she was sure that no one would have heard of Cosmos and Chaos. The deities they knew were Morrighan, Macha and Cichol, and probably few remember Neamhain.

'_**You can always ask me…'**_ a dark voice whispered.

Aiyannah widened her eyes. _It_ was still there. She thought that over time _it _would go away. She thought that _it_ would leave her alone. Unfortunately, she thought wrong. _'What do you want?'_ she snapped at the voice.

'_**Why, I just want to help you…'**_

"Aiyannah?" Chriselda called, snapping the human out of her thoughts. "Erinn to Aiyannah? Are you there?"

"H-Huh? What?" Aiyannah stammered as she turned to face her comrade. "Did you say something?"

The elf gave her a look. "Oh no, I wasn't saying anything! Nope! No sir-y!" she said, her sarcasm very evident. "Of course I was saying something! I was talking about how I heard rumors about a strange man in some town, but no~! You were off being a wall!" she ranted on. She was about to continue when Aiyannah had covered her already open mouth with her hand.

The seriousness in her friend's purple eyes caused the elf to calm down. "What rumors?" Aiyannah asked, removing her hand and getting back to her seat.

"Well, like I was saying," the elf continued, "I was Kristell, asking her what she knew about our situation, which was nothing, when a few of them brutes came by."

Aiyannah raised an eyebrow. "Brutes?"

"Giants I tell ya!" Chriselda blurted out. "They were talking about some dude having this big ass sword back in Vales."

"Vales…" Aiyannah repeated in a whisper. "Well, that's a start. Come on Chris. The quicker we get on a boat, the quicker we get to Vales," she said as she got up, dusting the skirt of her armor.

Chriselda widened her eyes as what her companion said registered. "Wait, waitwaitwaitwaitwait, wait!" she said as she tried to catch up to her friend who was already walking south towards Gairech Hills. Of course, the catching up part was easy, being an elf and all, but the taking down what Aiyannah said was a bitter pill to swallow. "Are you insane Aiyannah?" the elf cried s she gripped the other's wrist, stopping her.

"Why? What's wrong?" the silverette asked, completely confused by her friend's sudden and completely unexpected reaction.

The elf almost slapped herself at her friend's obvious question. "What do you mean 'what's wrong'?" Chriselda said, almost shouting. "Vales? Giants? Filia? Elves? War? Ring any bells?"

As if in a moment of enlightenment, Aiyannah's eyes grew wide. "Oh yeah…" The human forced a nervous laugh. "Well, in that case, I'll have to go alone." She had completely forgotten about the not-so-friendly ties between the Giants and the Elves. The three of them never had any problems though, despite their different races. She, Chriselda and Fleur were always in good terms. Speaking of Fleur… "How about Fleur?"

"What about Fleur?" Chriseld snapped.

Aiyannah rolled her eyes. _'There she goes again…'_

"What about her?" she pressed on. "We haven't seen her in like, ages!"

The purple-eyed girl sighed. She had a point. Fleur had been busy ever since she started to take up treasure hunting. Iria was a land filled with mystery and secrets, and usually, mystery and secrets meant treasure of much value. Courcle, was a hotspot for such activity. Their Giant friend would send an owl or two every few months, but they were never close to seeing each other again.

"She had a pretty good reason y'know," Aiyannah suddenly interrupted. "She needs to earn a living. It just so happens that it's something she very much enjoys and takes a long time." Chriselda was about to start arguing again when Aiyannah spoke again. "Besides, I'm worried for her too y'know." At that, the elf quieted down, making the human giggle.

"Alright, Vales it is then!" Aiyannah cheered as she took hold of her friend and started heading their way to Port Ceann. Chriselda said nothing in reply and started to follow. A few moments passed before Aiyannah cried out. "Wait for me! Chris!"

The said elf cracked a smile as she turned around, finding her friend to be several feet behind. "Pick up the pace you slow human!" she teased. She heard a whistle pierce through the quiet night. She watched as a familiar brown horse came into view. "Cheater!" she cried as Aiyannah quickly caught up with her.

Aiyannah stopped her horse just before the elf and stuck out her tongue. "You cheated first!" she laughed as she extended a hand towards her. Chriselda took it and got herself up on the horse as well. "C'mon Whiskey!" she said, her horse obeying.

"Y'know, I still can't get over the fact you named your horse after an alcoholic beverage," Chriselda pointed out, earning a laugh from the human.

"Me neither. So, back to more important matters," Aiyannah said, everything about her turning serious. "You believe those giants?"

Chriselda took a moment to think before replying. "Well, it _is_ a start, though it's risky for me to go. You're neutral, so you can waltz right in and out as you please. I, on the other hand-"

"Then I can go in. You just have to hide and stay away from the guards. No big deal," Aiyannah said. "But it wouldn't hurt to ask around nearby towns, right? I mean, Bangor's in the way, right?"

"Yeah, good idea. Quilla is also a good place to ask around," Chriselda added. "We might find one of your 'Warriors of Cosmos' if we're lucky enough." Aiyannah, sensing her friend's mocking tugged on one of her braids. "Hey! I was just kidding!"

"I know."

* * *

Cichol growled as he thought of what the two wretched goddesses had done. Once again, Morrighan had found a way to interfere, and now, Cosmos was being annoying as well.

"Those two!" he hissed, fighting the urge to blast the next thing he sees and turn it into a pile of ashes. Time and time again, the Goddess of War and Vengeance had thwarted his plans, along with her faithful warrior. "The paladin…" he mused as he opened a dark portal showing where the accursed Milletian was. He sensed darkness near her. At that, he laughed. "Oh how cruel fate is!" he darkly chuckled. "The Savior of the Goddess, the Savior of Erinn, bears a burden unspeakable."

Though his face could not be seen, an evil smile could be sensed forming.

"She has not yet decided."

* * *

Aiyannah shivered as an unnaturally cold wind passed by. They were already near the center of the Sen Mag Plains where the great wars took place. The destruction the war had wrought was still evident in the broken structures and craters on the ground. It was also where Fleta and Rab were bound to show up.

Chriselda had called upon her own horse - a black and white steed named Esperanza - and was riding right beside her, matching the human's slow pace. It was not too long ago that Chriselda had started venturing to Uladh and her unfamiliarity with the terrain was evident when she turned to her map more than often. But even though she was not used to Uladh, she was pretty sure Sen Mag was way out of the way from Port Ceann.

"Tell me again why we're in Sen Mag?" the elf asked, irritated by the side trip.

The silverette sighed, knowing she would have to repeat herself. "Because we need to get to Emain Macha," she replied, stating it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"And why, pray tell, are we going Emain Macha?" Chriselda asked, her irritation still evident.

"Because Aodhan needs me there."

"And why does he need you?"

"There has been strange activities going on in the town. He wants me to investigate," Aiyannah casually replied. She noticed from the corner of her eye that her friend was shaking her head. "What?"

Chriselda rolled her pink eyes at her friend's incompetence. "I meant, of all people, why _you_?" she reiterated, pointing a finger at her.

Aiyannah looked up in thought. Coming up with nothing, she shrugged and turned back to the road. She noticed the dark clouds that were quickly heading their way, signaling rain. "We should hurry up if we don't want to get caught in the rain."

"Whatever." There was a moment of silence before Chriselda broke into a huge, mischievous grin. "Race ya!" she laughed as she quickly dashed passed her human companion. Her horse gave a sound of disapproval at the sudden change of speed, making its owner laugh even louder.

Aiyannah, having been stunned by her friend's exuberance, also smiled a creepy smile. "I won't let ya win ya elf!" she shouted as she signaled her horse to speed up. The two women laughed all the while as they headed towards the city by the lake.

A man with silver hair that had a short braid at the base of his neck frowned at the two ladies before him: a silverette who was out of breath and a blonde who was equally exhausted. "I appreciate that you arrived as soon as you could, but could you have presented yourselves in a more honorable state?" his sharp azure eyes carefully examining them.

The human smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry for our current condition Aodhan, but we are more than ready to see what's up," Aiyannah said, finally composing herself.

The knight looked at them that showed he was unconvinced, but nevertheless he was willing to have them help out. "As you may have heard, there have been strange appearances of Fomors in different places. Residents have seen a figure creeping in the shadows late at night and running off to the forest up north."

"A strange figure?" Chriselda repeated.

Aodhan nodded. "Indeed. I would have liked to patrol the area myself, but the caste needs my presence."

"Of course," Aiyannah replied. "We'll be on it right away." The man thanked them for their cooperation before the pair headed off to think things through. They settled themselves to a patch of flowers near the western entrance of the city.

"So, when do you think we should start?" Aiyannah asked her companion as she lay down on the flowers, enjoying the scent they had. She heard something rustle beside her and peeked from the corner of her eye. Chriselda had also lain on the flowers, mouth in a frown.

"If you want to get to Vales the soonest, then after we visit Vales. But if you want get it done, then right now," the elf sighed.

"Do you think it's one of my friends?" Aiyannah said, sounding hopeful.

The elf sighed. "To be honest honey, I don't have a clue," she replied bluntly.

The silverette frowned at her friend's brutal truth. Neither of them knew what they were getting into. Hell, they didn't even have a clue whether what they were looking for was friend or foe. They were given nothing but a vague description of someone _or_ something that had been acting suspicious arpund the place.

With a sigh, Aiyannah stood up. "Gonna go and-"

"Come back with something for me~" Chriselda cooed, cutting off her friend. Aiyannah couldn't help but smile and nod as she went back into town.

Emain Macha was a big city named after the Goddess Macha who had given up her divinity in order to be with a mortal man who she knew would never love her. Believing the man could and would love her back, she continued to love him despite of the truths that she knew. It was when the man married someone else that Macha fell apart. Grief-stricken, she threw herself into the lake, welcoming her death, but not before cursing mankind.

After the Goddess' death, the land became barren and the lake turned red, the color of the deity's hair. People began to fall into despair, but after naming the city after the Goddess of War, the curse lifted, only to exist in song. Because of the horrible things the city had experienced, she was no longer called the Goddess of War, rather, the Goddess of Destruction.

"Ooof!"

Aiyannah felt herself hit the floor, her metal armor noisily hitting the cement only to confirm that she had indeed, fallen. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking and…"

"Shut your mouth. Peasants like you should have no right to talk to a person of my standings," an old man in a brown robe and a green beret sneered. The fallen girl couldn't help but curse mentally. Of all of Emain's residents, this man was the one she most disliked.

Aiyannah quickly picked herself up and immediately turned away after muttering another apology. Del and Delen, the twin florists could only shake their heads as they watched before turning to a customer. Galvin, the general shop keeper sighed and rolled his eyes, having been fed up by the man's arrogance.

"Hey, over here," a young man in ragged clothes said as he waved to call Aiyannah's attention. The said girl smiled as she recognized him, though his current state was anything but smile worthy.

"Hi there kid, still living off of the streets huh?" Aiyannah greeted as she ruffled the boy's hair, ignoring the dirt that must have accumulated in it.

The boy laughed in response. "It can't be helped," he casually replied as he turned to the rich man. "I'm glad not all of you are like _him_."

"Well, we try," the girl replied. "So, why'd you call me over?"

The beggar laughed again. "Straight to the point already? You usually give me something first before more pressing topics," he commented. Aiyannah rolled her purple eyes as she dug into her bag for something to give him. She pulled out her hand, managing to pull out a meal out of chicken and rice. She handed it over to him and he accepted it whole-heartedly. "Thank you. Well, I heard that you were looking for the mysterious man."

Aiyannah took a seat beside the beggar, taking interest in his topic. "Yeah… You know anything?"

The boy nodded. "He gives me something every time he passes by. I don't really get why Aodhan's worked up about it," he said with a shrug.

The girl pulled her brows together. "You saw him? What does he look like?"

"Well…"

* * *

Chriselda was almost about to doze off when she heard rustling near her. Her pointed ears twitched at the sound. She couldn't shake of the feeling that she was being watched, so she pretended to be asleep. She wasn't an elf for nothing.

Elves, like humans, had their own enhanced form, similar to that of paladins. Once an elf had undergone certain tasks, they were able to take on the Falcon form. Having past these trials, Chriselda had achieved her Falcon form and had her senses enhanced exponentially. The cloth that usually covers her eyes during this form blinds her, but she could still see via the energies bodies radiated.

This situation was simply like that. Her bow was nearby, her quiver within reach. One false step and the intruder would have an arrow sticking out of its chest.

She heard movement once again, her senses on high alert. After a few more moments though, she could no longer hear anything. Assuming that whoever or whatever it was had left, she opened her pink eyes only to gaze into blue ones.

Out of pure instinct, she spun about, her foot colliding with the intruder's form, and took her stance. She quickly reached for her bow and arrows and aimed. She sent the projectile flying without a moment's hesitation, only to be dodged.

The form took its own stance and produced two identical swords. Chriselda narrowed her eyes at her opponent and prepared another shot, aiming for the robe that had been concealing him all along. His robe was brown and ragged, hood up, preventing Chriselda from getting a good view of the person.

She was about to shoot when the figure quickly ran up to her and blinded her with a flurry of attack. Most of them she was able to block, but her armor could only take so much before she forced to back away.

She quickly ran up the dirt road leading to the forest and started to take aim once again. When she had a clear shot she let go, this time two arrows flying. One missed, but the other had hit its intended target. The man's robe didn't fly off, but the lower part had been ripped off, leaving the hood and most of his torso covered.

The elf widened her eyes as she noticed an unusual appendage casually swaying behind him. "I… I-is that a tail?" she squeaked before being flung into a tree. She slid down to the ground and tried to get onto her feet.

"Got a problem with that?" the man asked as he stood before her crouched form. He backed away just before a blade could scratch his face, flipping back and landing on all fours.

Chriselda wiped a bit of blood that trailed down her cheek and smirked. She took hold of her sword as she stowed away her bow and arrows. "Nope. Not at all." With that she charged. She locked blades with the man but was soon pushed back. "Damn swords," she cursed.

"Not used to handling them?" he asked, a playful smirk on his face.

"Not really," she replied, a smirk on her face as well for an unknown reason.

"You don't look to bad," the man commented, assessing his adversary.

Chriselda couldn't help but smile even further. Whoever this man was, didn't know the first thing about elves. "Well, if you like how I look that much, better get one last glimpse 'cuz…" In a blink of an eye, she disappeared. "… I'll be gone before you know it."

The man widened his eyes at the unexpected trick and raised his guard up, tail twitching every now and then. "What a dirty trick," he muttered.

"It's not a dirty trick," a voice said from behind him, but it was too late for him to react. Chriselda had already pushed him into a tree and shot consecutive arrows, pinning him. The arrows were too deep into the wood that he couldn't shake them off. "I'd have to call it a gift that puts you in a disadvantage."

Chriselda took hold of a single arrow and pointed it directly at his face. "I never heard of arrows being used to stab," her captive said without a hint of worry in his voice.

The elf frowned at his lack of fear. "Usually, when I am up against an intelligent being, they would be stricken with fear if an arrow of my mine is right before them. They would be begging for me to spare them, shivering in fear or looking for a way to escape… But you…" Chriselda stepped back a few feet and narrowed her eyes. "You're too cocky I suppose, doing none of the three." She drew her hand back and quickly threw the arrow, making the hood of her captive fall.

"Like what you see?"

"Hardly."

Her reply made the blonde laugh. "Well, wait till you see this!" Chriselda shut her eyes as a blinding light suddenly engulfed the man. When she regained her vision, the person her arrows had held was gone.

"Dammit! Where are you?" she said as she turned from side to side, bow ready. The elf quickly dodged to the right as she sensed an incoming force from behind. She quickly turned about and saw the man in pink fur. "Now ain't this interesting?"

"What? Now, you like me?" the man said, charging. Chriselda dodged again, escaping with another cut to her exposed arms. "You fight in that?"

"Yeah, so?" she countered as she quickly aimed and shot an arrow. The projectile hit his shoulder, making him yelp in pain. The man crouched down and tried to pull it out. The elf took advantage of his vulnerable form and aimed once again. This time, using the erg of a mirage to deal continuous damage without moving a single muscle.

As she let the charged arrow fly, the man quickly moved out of the way. Chriselda, in a state of surprise at the miss, was knocked up into the air by another set of quick attacks from her opponent. Just when she thought it was over though, the man's blades flew to her and beams of energy hit her. When the attack was finished, she fell to the ground, breathless and severely wounded.

She struggled to get up to her feet, but it was too much for her. She lay on the dirt road, the sun quickly sinking into the horizon, its orange rays giving a few more moments of light.

"No, not yet…" she mumbled as she stood up, finding new strength. The man shielded his eyes as a bright yellow light engulfed the elf. When the light had subsided the elf had turned into a purplish being with feathers covering her upper torso and black cloth covering most of her face, including her eyes.

"What the-"

"You messed with the wrong elf," she said as she aimed. The arrow left her hand quickly, leaving no reaction time. It had hit the man, but what he had not expected was the power behind it. The arrow had left an icy trail in its wake and had created ice when it hit him in the abdomen.

"CHRISELDA! DROP THAT BOW RIGHT NOW!"

The said elf stopped and winced at the familiarity of the voice. The man also seemed to have stopped what he was doing. "What is it now Aiyannah? Don't you see I'm in the middle of a fight?"

"A-Aiyannah?" The man repeated.

"Dammit Chris! Must you always attack the first unfamiliar thing you see?" Aiyannah scolded her friend as she marched her way closer to them. The silverette widened her eyes at the state her friend was in. "You're in Falcon? Is this over-kill? Do you really want to beat him up into an unrecognizable pulp?"

"Maybe…" Chriselda said with a sly smile on her face. "Beat up is for Fleur. What I do is puncture. _Puncture_ into an unrecognizable pulp."

"Revert. Now," Aiyannah ordered, eyes narrowed. Chriselda shuddered. She knew from first-hand experience to never cross Aiyannah. _NEVER._

"Fine, fine." In a blink of an eye, Chriselda returned to her original form, blonde hair and all. She turned her opponent.

"You too. Now." The man obeyed wordlessly, returning to his own form, blond hair and all. "You alright Zidane? Chris is a bit harsh sometimes," she said as she started to tend to his wounds.

Chriselda, confused, tired and pissed, couldn't help but rub her temples. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait…."

"What is it?" Aiyannah asked, looking up from the genome's wounds.

"Why are you helping _him_? _I'm_ the victim here! I…." Chriselda paused mid-sentence as she noticed something. Aiyannah, seeming to know what she had realized raised a fine eyebrow. "You called him what exactly?"

"Zidane Tribal, one of my missing Warriors of Cosmos."

"So he's-"

"Yup."

"Not a-"

"Nope."

"But the-"

"I know."

Chrisleda plopped herself down on the ground. "Oh well…" She turned to Zidane with an apologetic smile as she rubbed the back of her neck. "So… uh… Sorry for attacking you like that and uh…"

"No problem. I'm sorry for sneaking up on you," the genome said, offering a hand.

The elf smiled and took it, giving it a good shake. "The name's Chriselda Amelia Drimati. You can call me Chris, like Nana here does sometimes."

"Zidane Tribal. Call me Zidane."

After being bandaged up by Aiyannah, the trio headed back to Aodhan to explain the situation.

Apparently, Zidane had wound up in the Coill Dungeon. He managed to get out, but was very injured. He knew that his appearance would make people grow cautious so he opted to go into town during the late hours so that only a few people would notice him. He had stolen a few bandages from Agnes and some food from Shena in order to get by. He would give the beggar a few pieces of food when he would pass by.

"Well, I thank you for your help, but Agnes and Shena need to be paid back," Aodhan informed them.

"No problem. I'll take care of it," Aiyannah said as she waved him goodbye. "So Zidane," she started off, turning to the genome, "Exactly how much did you steal?"

* * *

_HA! I updated!_


	5. Chapter 4

Aiyannah paced back and forth as she let her two companions wander about town. Chriselda was more than willing to tour the genome around town, much to her suspicion. Nevertheless, she let her friends go and was gifted with some quiet time to think. Yesterday, the beggar at the square had not only helped her with finding Zidane, but also gave very disturbing advice.

"_Things you've set aside are catching up with you. Better tie the loose ends or else you'll be entangled in an even greater mess."_

"What does he mean by 'catching up'?" Aiyannah pondered as she continued to walk in an oval path inside the restaurant. Shena, Fraser and Gordon were giving her strange looks, but she paid no attention to them. They were already used to the silverette using the view from their quaint restaurant to clear her mind. Aiyannah had to admit the way the place was designed appealed to her.

"_**It means that I'm back…"**_

The human widened her eyes, looking around to see if anyone had spoken. Apparently, the three employees were already busying themselves with their own work, sparing not even a glance at the girl.

'_Strange… I could've sworn…'_

"_**No need to act innocent. You can tell everything to me…"**_

Aiyannah, now irritated. _'Alright! Who are you?'_

"_**Why, it's me? Don't you remember all the good times we spent? You even went out of your way to collect all those pieces of armor…"**_

'_Shut up. You can't be the dark armor. No, Tarlach had destroyed you!'_

"_**The armor that is…"**_

'_What does that even mean?'_

"_**No time to chat. They're back."**_

'_Who's-'_

"Aiyannah, we're back!" Chriselda chimed as she waltzed into the restaurant, Zidane following right behind her. The elf stopped in her tracks as she noticed her friend's haggard appearance. "Are you alright Aya?" It was what Chriselda would call her friend when she was deeply concerned.

"Aya?" Zidane interjected, but other than that, he kept his mouth shut. He took in the human's appearance and indeed, she looked like something had chewed her up and spit her out.

Aiyannah gave them a weak smile and took a seat on one of the chairs. The sun was already setting when she looked across the horizon. She really liked how the lake sparkled when the sun would go down. She also loved how the cathedral would light up and be reflected on the waters. "I'm fine," she said, waving a hand.

"You don't look fine," Zidane commented, taking a seat right beside her. "You can tell us anything," he said, putting a hand on her exposed shoulder. She was still wearing her armor despite the utter lack of its need.

The silverette took hold of his hand and smiled sweetly at him. "Won't you take my word for it?" she asked as she set his hand on the table. Chriselda gave her a look.

"I know! You're depressing over Hamlet again aren't you?" she teased, nudging her friend gently. Aiyannah widened her eyes and covered her face, aware that her cheeks were getting warmer.

"I was not!" she denied.

Zidane looked between the two women and raised a hand. "Who's Hamlet?" he innocently asked, earning a chuckle from the elf.

"Oh, no one special," she chimed as she took the seat directly in front of her friend. "Just some prince Aiyannah met when she was acting in Avon."

"Stop it Chris!" Aiyannah whined through her hands.

"Stop being such a kid!" the elf countered, removing the hands from Aiyannah's face. Indeed, she was blushing like mad. "Aww… You look cute when you're embarrassed," Chriselda cooed. Zidane couldn't help but snicker as well as he caught a glimpse of the purple-eyed girl's face. It was when someone cleared their throat that they stopped their teasing.

Shena, her arms crossed over her tray, looked at them expectantly. "Ordering anything?" she asked as she tapped her foot in a patient rhythm.

Chriselda looked between her companions and rubbed the back of her neck. "Three Strawberry Milks?" she said, not sure of what else to say. She had, after all, a bit of decency and was embarrassed to have their restaurant be used as some sort of conference place. As soon as the waitress went away, the elf leaned closer to her friend. "You're paying," she whispered.

Another round of bickering between the two women ensued before their order was given to them. They quietly consumed the drink when Aiyannah spoke out of the blue.

"Zidane, what's the tail for?" Chriselda almost choked on her straw while Zidane turned to the said appendage.

"Well, I'm pretty sure it's not penguin food," the genome replied, a smirk on his face.

The elf recovered from her previous choking only to burst into laughter. "Dewberry bit you too?" she laughed. "Then again, who hasn't she bitten?" Aiyannah nodded in agreement.

The silverette, as well as the other two people around her, blinked in surprise as a scroll of paper fell from the sky and onto the table. Aiyannah looked up and caught a glimpse of a white owl flying away into the distance. With a sigh of defeat, she took hold of it and read its contents.

Zidane, not knowing what it was, turned to Chriselda for answers. "It's what you call a quest scroll. An owl drops it off. Everything you need to know about someone wants to get done is in that piece of paper," she bluntly explained, taking another sip out of her drink. "So, what's it say?" she asked, turning to the human as soon as she set it down.

Aiyannah groaned as she pushed it towards the elf. "Andras wants something to be delivered right away… As in, right away," she said, rubbing her temples. "Must people be always in such a rush? Don't they know I'm off to save the world again?"

Chriselda handed over the piece of paper back to Aiyannah. "Think of it as an opportunity, I guess. We found your tailed friend here since someone needed us here," Chriselda pointed out as she pointed a finger towards Zidane. "I guess we leave right now huh?"

Aiyannah nodded in response. "Can you take some up late travelling?" she asked, turning to Zidane.

"Of course! I'm always ready for action!" the genome replied with much enthusiasm.

"With luck, we might be able to see flower kid," Chriselda muttered under her breath. Unfortunately for her, Aiyannah heard the small insult and gave her a smack on the head. "What'd I do?"

* * *

An old man in a long white robe raised an eyebrow at the person who was slowly fading from view while being dragged away by an energetic elf. "Aiyannah, is that-"

"Yep."

The man gave the appendage one more look before sighing. "I must say Aiyannah, you happen to come across the strangest of people," he said as a kind smile crossed his features. Aiyannah returned the smile and chuckled a bit.

"I call it a strange kind of luck Berched," she replied, sparing a glance at her companions. They were almost out of sight, but she knew that Chriselda and Zidane were off by the Black Dire Wolves. The elf, knowing she had no business with old man, decided to brush up on her archery and managed to drag Zidane along with her. "Say, Andras wants me to give this to you."

Berched let out a small chuckle. "Straight to the point now are we? What happened to stopping and smelling the roses?"

The purple-eyed girl shrugged in response. "So…"

"Ah yes," the druid exclaimed. "Come, come. I'll take it off of your hands." Berched reached behind him and pulled out a chain that had an odd pendant dangling from it. "Here, a token of my gratitude. I found it lying around the Stonehenge," he said as he handed over the necklace.

Aiyannah looked at the said necklace. It was a simple chain with one lone ornament. A pendant with a lion's head mounted on top of a cross-like figure. She had never seen such a symbol in her whole life, but there was a flicker of familiarity as it shined in the light that filtered through the trees. She closed her palm and rested it above her chest. "Wasn't Andras supposed to give me the reward?

Berched gave her another smile. "Believe me, she won't, so there you go. Now off you go. I know you have better things to do," he said as he waved goodbye.

The girl waved goodbye as she walked away. The first time she came across Berched he had told her that it was surprising that she was talking to a druid instead of an alchemist while in Taillteann, the Town of Alchemy. She had come to him in order to learn a special kind of magic that focused more on enhancing the power behind physical attacks through magic. The old man had asked her to do odd things before teaching her. _'I guess it was worth it….'_

"Aiyannah!" Chriselda called as the human exited the more wooded part of the area and into the dirt road. "You done?" she bluntly asked as she ran towards her.

Aiyannah nodded her head. "Yeah. Berched gave me this as some sort of reward. Know what it is?," she said as she showed her elven friend the necklace. Chriselda squinted her eyes to observe the item in greater detail.

"Never seen anything like it, meaning it's super rare or…" The elf paused as Zidane finally managed to catch up with the blonde. "… could be one of your friends'." Chriselda quickly snatched the item and practically slammed it into Zidane's face. "Know this thing?"

The genome stumbled back, his butt landing on the ground. "Ow!" he exclaimed as he rubbed his face. "You didn't have to do that! For a pretty lady, you can be very harsh."

Chriselda looked at him, unamused. "Oh stand up," she said, letting the necklace dangle from her hand. "You recognize this?"

Zidane stood up and dusted off his clothes. "That's…" he said as he glanced at the necklace. He widened his eyes as he recognized the object in the elf's possession. "That's Squall's!" he exclaimed as he reached out to grab the necklace, but it was quickly taken away by Chriselda.

Aiyannah raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Grouchy?"

"Say wha?" Chriselda said, giving her friend a confused and uncertain look.

"His name's Squall. Another of my friends," Zidane explained. "Very short temper."

"Mr. Anti-social? No, Cloud's also anti-social," Aiyannah argued with herself, completely oblivious to Zidane's explanation. "Nah, Mr. Grouchy would do." Aiyannah felt something hit her head, stopping her debate with herself. "Ei?"

"Ouch! Blasted owl!"

"Huh?"

The trio all had scrolls dropped onto them from above. Chriselda frowned and rubbed the top of her head where the unusually heavy piece of paper hit her. Zidane and Aiyannah, on the other hand, were not hurt in any way. The three of them picked up and read the scrolls that had fallen to the ground, each piece of paper similar in content.

"Strange…" Aiyannah murmured as she read her scroll. "An invitation…"

"A ball?" Chriselda exclaimed, disbelieving.

Zidane's brows furrowed. "A masquerade to be exact, to be held at Tara Rath Castle… Now where could that be?" he asked, turning to the human.

"It's just south west from here. A short flight, but a long walk…" Aiyannah informed him. "But… This ball's not due for another week. Why give it such an early time?"

The elf shook her head. "The correct question would be why we were invited. I thought only high class nobles were allowed to those kinda things," she said, huffing.

"Oh come on Chris! Don't be such a downer. We got invited! We should be excited! We should be-!" Aiyannah froze mid-sentence, as if something had revealed itself to her. "Dear gods! We need to find dresses!" The two ladies frowned at the realization.

"Damn dresses…" Chriselda spat as she crossed her arms.

Zidane raised an eyebrow. "You don't like dresses?" Aiyannah shook her head while Chriselda nodded hers in response.

"It's not that we don't like them," the silverette started to explain.

The elf rolled her eyes, already knowing the next part of their excuse. "It's just that it's difficult to fight in long, frilly dresses," she stated, finishing Aiyannah's sentence.

"Says the woman who wears a short skirt while fighting," Zidane smartly commented. The elf stuck her tongue out at the genome. Aiyannah shook her head, though a smile had formed on her lips.

"Alright… It's still a long way before the ball, so we can still continue on looking for our friends," the purple-eyed girl stated. "This necklace," she said as she quickly snatched the chain from the elf, "should be able to help us. Some sort of clue… Berched told me he saw this lying around the Stonehenge so…"

"To the Stonehenge?" Chriselda asked, already knowing what her friend was planning. "We don't even know what we'll face if we enter with that thing in our hands!"

"Oh please, what's the worst than can happen?" the human asked, already waltzing towards the rock formations. The elf sighed in frustration and followed her friend after hissing a quick 'come on' to Zidane.

The genome obediently followed the elf, not wanting to anger her even more. So far, he had come to get to know the two women. Aiyannah possessed an innocent and child-like aura, but she was not clueless towards the things around her. She had proven to be a capable fighter and trustworthy companion. Chriselda, on the other hand, was more serious and guarded. The human had told him that the elf was a sweet and caring person and that it would take time for her to get used to other people. Aiyannah also told him that she viewed her as her older, over-protective sister.

"So, what exactly is this Stonehenge?" Zidane asked as an effort to start a conversation with the elf. She stood not more than a few inches taller than himself and could not be more than a year or so older.

Chriselda turned towards his direction, her pink eyes looking straight into his blue ones. "Well," she sighed, "it's the entrance to the Shadow Realm." The genome was about to ask what the Shadow Realm was when the elf began speaking again. "The Shadow Realm is an alternate realm. It just appeared one day and the Stonehenge is the only way we could enter it in order to explore. So far, the expeditions included research on the creatures within it and the stop of Fomorian activities."

The blonde male nodded. "So we just go in there?"

"As a matter of fact, we do," the elf simply replied as the Stonehenge came into view. "Aiya's already there. We should get a move on."

"Is it safe?"

"Hopefully."

* * *

"I thought you said it was safe!" Zidane yelled as he slashed another lancer down.

"I said hopefully! Remember?" Chriselda replied as she shot two arrows towards the large figure of a warrior. The creature skidded backwards and suddenly stumbled back as a bolt of ice slammed into it. "Finally!" she said, shooting a glare towards the silverette.

"Hey, I'm busy too!" Aiyannah snapped back as she turned towards the horse that was charging towards her. She shot another block of ice towards it, causing it to flinch. She followed up with a few more ice shards and the horse was pushed a good distance away. She tightened her grip on the two swords in her hands and charged. She stabbed the creature in the abdomen and slid the blade upwards, gathering enough strength to lift the beast and throw it to the side. The horse clumsily got up and Aiyannah quickly finished it with an ice spell.

Chriselda gritted her teeth as she let two more arrows fly. They hit their mark, killing the fighter, but the elf did not notice the lancer rushing at her. Chriselda widened her eyes and quickly turned around to see the lancer being cut down by two blades. A small figure landed just before her, a smirk on his face.

"I'll watch your back," Zidane told her as another wave of monsters appeared. The elf nodded, pulling back two more arrows. The two people heard something land beside them and saw Aiyannah backing up towards them. Soon, they were up against each other's backs, several enemies slowly approaching them.

"Any bright ideas there Aiya?" Chriselda whispered, her eyes still trained at the incoming mob.

"Uhh… Thunder?" she suggested. The elf shot her a disbelieving look. "What? That's all I've got!"

"Fine! Zidane, you and me will give her cover!" Zidane nodded as he tightened his grip on his daggers. Aiyannah took out a wand that had a tip reminiscent to that of a lightning bolt. She closed her eyes and started chanting. Chriselda crouched down, a hand touching the ground. Zidane could not do anything but commend the elf's confidence as her skirt almost revealed her underwear. "Focus you damn monkey!" she hissed as she felt his gaze on her backside.

"With a woman like you near me, I'm amazed I can still remember my name," the genome playfully replied.

The elf frowned. "You talk to me like that again and I'll make sure you won't remember your name," she growled. Her attention was then torn away from the genome when one of the creatures broke into a hasty run. As soon as it was in her range, she dragged her legs across in a circular motion, not only hitting the enemy, but also those that were near enough as well. Chriselda loaded a bow and started to channel magical energy into it. The projectile glowed an eerie purple before it was sent flying. It hit one of the slower monsters and it also started to glow purple, as well as those around it. The elf then drew another arrow back, channeling energy into it once again. "Go! I can't do all the work here!" she ordered the genome. Zidane nodded as he charged, attacking the enemies behind the elf.

Chriselda let go of the arrow and it hit its mark. A few moments passed and an explosion was heard. The monsters around the creature she had hit were hit and fell dead. She really loved using what they called Mirage Missile and Crash Shot. She was always so amazed on how effective poisoning the enemy was and how it could spread through the crowds. The elf could hear the low rumble of thunder above her and immediately moved away from the crowd of monsters.

"Get back Zidane! You'll get hit if you're not careful!"

At that instant, Aiyannah opened her eyes and revealed them to be glowing white. Electric energy ran up the wand and into the heavens above as she raised it. Lightning came raining down on all the monsters, some stunning them, some ultimately killing them. Those that had survived the initial strike were then bombarded with several more bolt of lightning, finally killing them.

The female human fell to her knees, her breathing heavy. Chriselda did a quick glance around to ensure that there were no more of the creatures before rushing to her friend's aid. Zidane followed suit, kneeling beside the silverette. "You okay?" the genome asked as he put a hand on her shoulder.

The woman nodded. "Yeah. It just drained me more than I expected… I could usually stand after a complete casting," she replied in between short breaths. Chriselda handed over a small blue bottle. The elf knew that an advance spell like that could really wear out a mage and it would need a potion like this to help her recover. As soon as she gave the human the bottle, Chriselda heard something, causing her ear to twitch. The elf immediately turned towards the direction of the sound and saw a man in a black outfit. She immediately got onto her feet and prepared her bow.

"Who are you?" she called out, drawing the attention of both Zidane and Aiyannah.

"I'd like to ask the same thing to you," the man replied, taking out an oddly shaped weapon.

"Squall!" Zidane exclaimed as he left Aiyannah's side and rushed towards the gunblader. Chriselda raised an eyebrow and turned towards her friend who was still sitting on the ground. The elf could see no sign of Aiyannah being concerned so she assumed that it was a friend of hers.

"Come on," Chriselda murmured as she helped the silverette up. She took one of the girl's arms and slung it over her shoulders and started to make their way towards the new arrival.

"Hey there Mr. Grouchy," Aiyannah greeted the gunblader, earning her a glare. "You seem to be in better condition than I thought."

"I can't say the same for you though," Squall replied. "You look as if you saw a ghost."

"Not exactly…" the girl laughed.

"How'd you get here Squall?" Zidane asked.

The gunblader shrugged, "I don't know. I've been here ever since the fight," he said, answering the genome's question. Squall glanced at the unfamiliar face. "Who's she?"

"The name's Chriselda," the elf said, introducing herself.

"She's one of Aiyannah's friends. She tagged along with her to help us," Zidane explained.

"Help us?"

Aiyannah nodded. "You guys are in big trouble. Cichol plans to turn you into his dark knights and try to destroy Erinn," she informed him. "I've only found you and Zidane, and I don't know where the others might have gone…"

"I see…" Squall murmured.

"So where do we go now Aiyannah?" Zidane asked as he looked around. It looked similar to the town they had gone to earlier and if his memory served him correct, it was called Taillteann. "How do we even get out of this place? It's kinda giving me the creeps."

"We get transported out. Y'know… poof," she informed them, receiving confused looks from the two men. The genome turned to the elf, his look asking whether or not she was serious. Chriselda nodded.

"Flash of light and we're back in Taillteann," she said. As if on cue, a small orb of light appeared before them, pulsing with energy. "And here's our ride," she announced as she put a hand on the orb. In an instant, the elf disappeared.

Aiyannah nudged her head towards the orb, coaxing the Warriors of Cosmos to go on before her. Zidane obeyed and copied Chriselda's actions, and soon, he was gone. Squall shot the silver-haired woman a glance, his eyes narrowed, before following after him.

Finally alone, Aiyannah stared at her palms. The black material of her so called Tioz Armor covered almost half of her palms, obscuring her view of the pale skin of her hands. The human sighed. _'What's happening to me?'_

She could feel it. Something was wrong. She couldn't place it, but it didn't mean that there wasn't anything wrong. Her magic was stronger than ever, not that she was unhappy about that, but every time she used magic, she could feel her energy slowly draining. Not the normal kind of draining mind you. The energy being sucked out, it wasn't the kind she used for magic. It was as if her blood was the one being sucked out.

The sound of clanking metal snapped her out of her thoughts and caused her to hasten her departure. She put a hand on the glowing orb and after a flash of bright light, she disappeared. The orb remained for a few moments, lazily floating about in circles before it lost its shine and turned an eerie black. The orb fell after it had changed color, hitting the floor. The orb rolled over a bit, revealing a crack running along its surface.

* * *

_Hah! 4th chappy!_


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Aiyannah smiled with content as she enjoyed the sun that was streaming through the trees. The silverette could hear the gurgling water of the stream and the various calls of the friendly wildlife. Corrib Valley was particularly peaceful compared to the rest of Uladh, and Erinn for that matter. It was the only place in Erinn where Aiyannah could really relax. Except the bees, the rest of the valley's inhabitants, the deers, were quite tame.

Water hit the human's face, pulling her away from her daydreaming. Aiyannah turned towards the stream and saw Chriselda knee deep in water. "What was that for?" she asked, pretending to be hurt.

The elf stuck her tongue out and continued wading around the water. Zidane and Squall had gone exploring on their own. Well, Zidane wanted to, and Squall was just forced to go with him. Aiyannah had given them basic directions on where to go, but Corrib Valley was pretty linear in its design with only two ways to enter and exit it. It was also the only path that connected Tara and Taillteann directly.

"Do you have anything to wear yet Aiya?" Chriselda suddenly asked out of the blue as she started heading back to dry land. She sat down on the patch of grass next to the purple-eyed girl and dragged her boots closer to her. "Well?"

Aiyannah looked up in thought. "For what exactly?" the girl admittedly asked.

The elf could only shake her head at her friend's forgetfulness. "The ball you idiot!"

The silverette opened her mouth, attempting to say 'oh', but no sound came out of her. "I haven't really thought of it yet… Have you decided?" she asked.

Chriselda shrugged. "I'm gonna wear that robe you and Fleur gave me… Y'know, the purple one…" she informed her friend, trying to make her remember all at once.

"Oh, that one… Man, did that take long to make…" Aiyannah chuckled as she remembered how many grueling months she had spent in order to finish the said article of clothing. Aside from the tedious sewing, she and Fleur also had to travel the ends of the world in order to look for the sewing pattern. "Anyway, if that's what you're going to wear, then I'll have to go with the dress Effie wears."

The elf raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You haven't worn that in ages. You think it still fits?" A punch landed on the elf's arm, causing her to wince and shoot a glare at her human friend. "What was that for?"

"For saying I'm fat!"

"I didn't say anything!"

"Yes you did!"

"No I didn't!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Ahem…" Zidane audibly cleared his through, catching the ladies' attention. "Uhm… Are you guys busy, 'cause if Tara's nearby, me and Squall could go on ahead…" Aiyannah immediately let go of the blonde elf that had somehow gotten stuck in a headlock. The elf coughed as she was released, having her airways finally cleared. Squall couldn't help but get a migraine.

Aiyannah jumped to her feet and dusted off her armor before starting to lead the way once again. It took them an hour's walk to get to Tara's gates. Out of all the town's Aiyannah had visited, Tara was the largest. Unlike the rest of Uladh's towns, Tara had its very own jousting arena and its own fashion show. It was also home to some of the most expensive clothes, the main branch of Erskin Bank, the home of largest church, largest castle and the auction house. Compared to the other places, Tara was massive.

"Welcome to Tara boys," Chriselda chimed as they passed through the town's gates. Stray cats and dogs chased each other up the streets while people greeted each other. "If you get lost, it's not our problem."

Zidane let out a low whistle. "Now ain't this place big huh Squall?"

The group looked up as a white owl hooted at them before dropping a scroll. The rolled up piece of paper landed in Aiyannah's hands. The girl immediately unrolled it and read its contents. "What is it now?" Chriselda groaned. Squall raised an eyebrow at the transaction. The genome leaned in closer towards the brunette and started explaining what it was.

"Jousting… Lileas wants me to joust," Aiyannah responded, deadpan.

Chriselda widened her pink eyes before bursting into laughter. "Is she serious?" she laughed. "You can't even hold a lance straight," she said as she shook her head. "We need to tell Alpin her sister's gone mad with all the testosterone in that arena."

Aiyannah frowned at her friend's apparent lack of confidence in her jousting abilities. Well, it was quite true that jousting was not her forte, but she had skill, as small as it was. Despite Chriselda's slimmer form, the elf could still hold a lance steady, much to most of her opponents' surprise. "Knock it off Chris… If you guys want, you don't have to watch me," she muttered sourly.

"Jousting?" Squall asked, a tone of disbelief in his voice.

The elf nodded. "Yeah. You get up on horses and ram each other with these long lances. First one to hit the ground loses. Nana here can win, but with a lot of luck…" Aiyannah stuck her tongue out at her elven friend. "So, wanna watch her?"

"Sure, why not?" Zidane replied.

"It's as if I have something better to do," Squall mumbled. With a triumphant smile on her face, Chriselda proudly pointed towards the direction of the Jousting Arena and led them towards it while Aiyannah quietly shook her head.

At the Jousting Arena, Lileas immediately dragged Aiyannah away from her companions. "I'm so glad you came!" she exasperatedly said.

The silverette raised an eyebrow. "Why? What's up? You look pretty nervous."

"Well…" The blonde immediately turned around and started playing with her feet. It was then that Aiyannah started feeling like there was something she was going to do that she didn't want to. "You see, I had a fight with this fella and we proposed a wager. He gets a jouster, I get a jouster and whoever wins…" Aiyannah didn't even dare listen any further. "I'm really sorry for getting you involved Aiyannah…"

"Couldn't you have asked some of the more professional jousters?" the human asked.

To her disappointment, Lileas shook her head. "We had rules. No pros…"

With a sigh of defeat, Aiyannah shook her head. "Alright, when's the match?" she asked in total surrender.

"Really you'll do it for me?" Lileas squealed. Aiyannah sighed again and nodded. "Alright! The match is tonigh. Please don't be late!" The silverette nodded her head and made her way back to her companions, leaving a very happy Lileas.

Chriselda raised an eyebrow as she saw her friend return with a downcast look. "What's up?"

"Lileas got herself into a bet…"

"Ouch… How much?" the genome asked.

Aiyannah shook her head. "Didn't even bother to listen…"

"So when's the match?" the elf asked.

"Tonight…" Aiyannah sighed.

Chriselda shook her head. "Good luck Aiyannah… Do you want to head for the shopping district for the mean time? Y'know, lift the spirits and stuff?"

The silverette shook her head. "Sorry, I wanna stay here. I just- " Aiyannah widened her purple eyes as a hand grabs her arm and starts dragging her out of the arena. Squall and Zidane's eyebrows were raised as they watched and followed them out.

"I'm not taking no for an answer tonight young lady!" Chriselda declared as she continued to storm of towards the runway, still dragging the human along. In the meantime, Aiyannah grew even more nervous with each passing second that they used to close the distance between the runway and themselves.

Aiyannah widened her eyes as she remembered what day it was. She immediately tried her best to slip away from the elf's grip, but for a slight woman like Chriselda, she was strong. The human desperately planted her heels onto the ground, an effort to slow them down, but the elf was persistent. Out of all her attempts to get herself free, she had only achieved aching feet, a sore arm and a throbbing head. "Of all the days to be in Tara!" the purple-eyed mage finally exclaimed, signaling her defeat.

A smile bordering on evil made its way to the elf's lips. "Now let's get you into something decent…"

* * *

Aiyannah frowned as she stared into the full-body length mirror they had provided her. Chriselda, in contrast, was smiling happily. The human was dressed in an outfit she rarely uses. It was also the same outfit she was supposed to wear for the ball. The dress was somewhat of a halter neck, the halter part being a ring of gold around her neck, and had a high waist. Past that is just the freefall of light and delicate silk of a pale blue hue. To complete the look, the translucent, white shawl hung barely on her smooth shoulders and Chriselda had forced her into some strappy sandals. The elf had also forced her to wear some sort of dangling earrings consisting of a bead and a feather.

"Do you really expect me to win?" Aiyannah bitterly asked, and as if to insult her even more, the elf shook her head. "I meant the jousting match." The elf shook her head again, causing the silverette's eyebrow to twitch. Her time of glaring, though, was up and she needed to strut down that now forsaken piece of wood they call a runway and feel pretty.

Chriselda put a reassuring hand on her best friend's shoulder and smiled a less evil smile. "Just don't' trip, alright?" The human, trying her best not to send a spear of ice towards her friend, forced a thankful smile and exited the room through the curtains which lead to a corridor which ultimately led to the waiting room just behind the runway.

Aiyannah could see all the other men and women dressed in the finest of clothing. She had seen them only in a few occasions, and some, never at all. The human had to admit that she had an obsession with clothes. Despite her promise to keep her wardrobe from increasing, she can't help get more. Though it wasn't really a predicament. All of her clothes, she could share with Chriselda, except for the heavy armor. Fleur, on the other hand, was not easy to share with in terms of clothing. All in all, Aiyannah has in her possession, three kinds of robes, two sets of armor, a pair of glasses, two hats, a rose for her hair, two pairs of gloves, three pairs of shoes, and countless dresses, blouses, shirts, pants and skirts. It really was a mystery how she could possibly store them, and how she can't seem to give or sell them.

Aiyannah raised her head as she heard her name being called. The crowd outside produced some sort of humming sound because of all their hushed mumbles, trying to be quiet as possible as the contestant takes his or her turn on the runway, Aiyannah forced her best smile as she passed through the thick curtain the separated her from the crowd. It took her a few moments to recover her composure after the blinding lights render her unable to see. As soon as the somewhat hazy figure of the runway appears, she does her best to walk to and back. She posed occasionally, doing what only comes into her mind based on what she had seen before in past fashion contests. Blow a few kisses. Put a hand on your hip. Wink. Be cute. Be pretty. Be worth looking at. As soon as she came back into the dark waiting room, she rushed back to the dressing room and saw Chriselda, a smile still on her face as she sat on a chair.

"That was better than I expected," the elf admitted with a laugh, causing the human to frown. Chriselda sighed and shrugged and got up. "Change. We need to get you back to the arena. You can't really ride a horse in that"-she pointed towards the dress-" and expect to win. Come on we need to go before the awarding."

When Chriselda finished her sentence, the familiar toll of the bells reached their ears. Only, it was not the huge, old bell that hung in Tara's bell tower. It was the bell used to announce the winner for the fashion contest. Before Aiyannah realized it, she was being thrown back onto the runway for one last victor's strut. The human could only stop her knees from shaking as she slowly walk down the stage, doing her best to look like she was just being sophisticated. Then, another bell rang. The girl's eyes went wide. The jousting tournament.

Without even thinking, Aiyannah ran off the edge of the runway and headed for the jousting Arena, ignoring Chriselda's demands for her to come back. Aiyannah groaned at the shoes she was wearing. They were killing her, but she had not time to take them off. After a few minutes of running, the silverette found herself panting at the entrance of the Arena. Lilieas was waiting there, her arms crossed and her foot tapping. A look of worry was on her face before she caught sight of the human and she immediate ran up to her.

"Aiyannah! Where the hell have you been?" the blonde exclaimed as she began ushering the girl into the Arena. "And what in Morrighan's name are you wearing?" she continued to rant. Before the silverette could explain herself, a lance was shoved into her hand and was being guided onto a horse. "No matter! Win this for me Aiyannah!" she cheered as she got back to her place.

The said woman rolled her eyes as she turned towards her opponent. Even with his helm on, she could make out the smirk on his face. "Lost your way sweet cheeks?" she heard him chuckle, immediately being filled with disgust.

"Not really… Did you?" she muttered.

Aiyannah immediately regretted her words when the man got off of his horse and casually leaned against hers. "How 'bout a bet? If I win, I get to take you to a date. If you win, you get to take me to a date."

Aiyannah frowned at the conditions. "How 'bout if I win I get to shove this lance up your sorry ass?" she hissed, earning her a chuckle from the man.

"If that's what you want," he chuckled as he got back onto his horse and rode to the other side of the arena.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen!" Lileas announced at the top of her voice. "Welcome to the Jousting Tournament! Tonight's match would be against Aiyannah of Tir Chonaill and Damien of Emain Macha! In five minutes, the match will begin, so any close friends can give words of encouragement."

Chriselda came running towards her human friend. "So Aiyannah, do your best alright?" the elf said. "And you owe me. I got your damn dress from the contest. It's your prize." Aiyannah raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, you've got something to wear for the ball now. Especially if you're gonna ruin that dress tonight," she said as she pointed at human. "Me, Zidane and Squall will be cheering for you. Well, mostly me and Zidane, but never mind that! Don't let that bastard get to your nerves. Show him that a girl in a dress can beat a man in armor any day!" At that moment, the sound of a gunshot went off, signaling the start of the match. The elf gave Aiyannah and her horse a reassuring pat before running off to her place. "Good luck!"

The silverette took a deep breath as she turned to her opponent. One more gunshot and they were off. _**"Good luck Aiyannah~"**_ The girl widened her eyes in horror, her shock causing her lance to tip to the left. Damien's lance squarely hit her on the shoulder while hers barely even grazed his side. Aiyannah hissed at the pain. Though she knew there was no blood, the force, she knew, would warrant a bruise. She gritted her teeth and turned her head towards Chriselda who was calling out to her. Their eyes met and Aiyannah shook her head, knowing that the elf was asking whether or not she was hurt.

"_Dammit!"_ the girl inwardly cursed as she proceeded to face her opponent. The ring of the bell signaled the next charge. _"Get away from me!" _ she screamed in her mind as she tightened her grip on the lance. Her lance hit the man right at the abdomen, causing him to slide to the side, his own lance missing her.

"That's it Aiyannah!" she heard Chriselda's voice cheer.

"Again! Again!" Zidane cheered. Over the cheers, Aiyannah could make out Lilieas' own squeals of happiness.

"_**You know I can't…"**_

Aiyannah could feel warm tears starting to well up in her eyes. She quickly shook them away and steadied her weapon. Aiyannah took a deep breath and charged at the sound of the bell. This time, they had both hit each other's shoulders. The silverette frowned at the repeated abuse on her shoulder and gave it a quick rub. Maybe it _was_ a bad idea that she didn't change into something sturdier.

"_**Focus Aiyannah… There's still much to do you silly girl~"**_ she heard the dark voice chuckle. Aiyannah knew that it should have been long gone, but there it was again, haunting her. The voice was very much like her own, but it was twisted into such a way that it came out as melancholic and deranged instead of the bell-like quality her friends always told her her voice had.

Two more charges and both Aiyannah and Damien were at their limits. Aiyannah had taken a lot of damage, but Damien did too. As expected though, the silverette seemed to be losing.

"One more Aya! Just one more!" Lileas and Chriselda cheered at the top of their lungs. The silverette glanced to the side and saw Zidane almost ready to jump out of the bleachers in nervousness while Squall himself was standing in anticipation. "Don't let that son of a-" Chriselda was stopped short by Lileas who had a disapproving look on her face.

"No rude words in my arena!" she scolded before turning back to the silverette. "Show that son of a bitch what you can do!" Lileas was immediately greeted by a glare coming from the elf. "What?" she asked innocently. "It's the testosterone."

Chriselda shook her head. "I really need to get your brother down here…" she sighed.

The human once again tightened her grip on her weapon. They were right. She just needed to outlast her opponent. The bell rang and they immediately charged at each other. Aiyannah shut her eyes before the collision and expected to fall off her horse, but the impact never came. Hesitantly, the silverette opened one purple eye and saw Damien slowly getting up, rubbing his ass in the process. Aiyannah dropped the lance and slowly got off of her horse, an eyebrow raised. "Did I win?" she asked, almost stumbling over as Chriselda and Lileas tackled her as they giggled.

Lileas was the first to recover, being the commentator and all. She took hold of Aiyannah's arm and raised it up. "The winner, Aiyannah of Tir Chonail!" The crowd began to cheer as Lileas guided the silverette onto the stage to accept her winnings and be formally acknowledged. Damien walked up to the stage as well, giving Aiyannah a friendly hand shake, apologizing for his behavior and thanking her for the match. After all the formalities, Lileas zoomed away to her fellow better, a triumphant smile on her face.

Chriselda handed Aiyannah a fresh set of clothes, a white and purple long-sleeved dress. It was what they called a two-toned bizot dress, but it was nevertheless a dress. "Change you sweaty human," the elf chuckled as she saw her friend desperately catch the pieces of clothing. Aiyannah frowned at the choice of clothing, causing the elf to frown as well. "Don't be such a picky little brat. Be thankful I had the nerve to get you those," she said.

"That was one hell of a tournament… Why don't we have those in our own worlds?" Zidane mused as he turned to Squall, a hand on his chin in thought.

The gunblader sighed. "I'm surprised you even had the guts get out there in that," he said as he motioned to the dress the girl was wearing. "Let alone win."

"Was that a compliment?" Aiyannah asked, her eyes narrowed at the gunblader. Squall did not respond. "Well, let's get me and you on a horse and have ourselves a match. I'm pretty sure Lileas won't mind if we get one free round. Let's see how high and mighty a rookie like you would do," she challenged.

"You're on," Squall replied, refusing to back down. Chriselda was about to force the two to back down, but Aiyannah and Squall were already off to Lileas, asking for a pair of horses. The elf just shook her head as she watched them make their way to opposite ends of the arena.

Zidane slowly inched towards the elf. "Wanna bet?"

"You don't even have money if my memory serves me right," Chriselda answered, an eyebrow raised in interest. The genome raised a pouch and shook it a bit, the coins within it jingling. "Oh, now that changes everything," the elf said with mild satisfaction. "500 gold. I say Squall's gonna win."

"Alright then that leaves me with Aiyannah." The blonde nodded in agreement before he realized that the elf was betting on the losing man. Seriously, Aiyannah just won against some rude brute. Who would say Squall would beat her? "Are you serious? You're really gonna bet on Squall! Aiyannah's got some skill there and you know it! You really want to lose?"

A smirk graced the elf's lips. "We'll see."

* * *

_Long time no see~! Yeah, I know it really has been quite a while. Sorry about that. I hope you like this chapter. Aside from that, for those who play Duodecim, I have finally defeated Feral Chaos. The REAL one. Not the freaking green one. No, not the manikin, but the effing REAL, RED one. The one at the end of Confessions of the Creator. HAHA! In your face Square Enix!_

_On the Mabi side, still have to get myself to finish G3 (i know right?), G7 (even if people say its worthless, hell. i can't bring myself to skip it) and G13 (that's Hamlet right? yeah, i haven't finished that yet. i'm on the final boss, Grim? yeah...) Come on! My internet's bad! Even with all the computer speeding stuff, bad internet is bad. You have not seen lag the way I have..._


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Zidane glared at the elf that was continuously smiling at him. Gaia, he hated her. Well, 'hate' was much too harsh a word, but 'dislike' was way too nice. Her eyes were a strange shade of reddish-pink and the tattoos on her face made her look even more exotic. Her blonde hair had a shade more of orange compared to his and her armor looked more like a dress than something that would protect her from attacks. But who was taking note of that? Definitely not him.

No, he was just downright annoyed with the elf and her cocky, sarcastic attitude. But then again, she was quite a sight.

Chriselda frowned, noticing the genome's smirk. "You're not thinking of anything lewd are you?" she pointedly asked him, gaining the attention of both the gunblader and the mage.

"Of course not!" the genome denied though the smile on his face was more than apparent.

The elf crossed her slim arms and raised a fine eyebrow. "Oh really?" she asked. "Well, I suppose a handsome, noble man wouldn't dare think of such things," she said, shrugging.

Zidane raised an eyebrow. _"Oh. So she _does_ like me. Zidane, you've done it again!"_ "I'm happy that you think of-"

Chriselda turned to Squall. "Right Squall? I think a person like you wouldn't stoop to this monkey's level."

Aiyannah rolled her eyes. Chriselda would never let the genome hear the end of it. So what? She lost to Squall when they jousted. It was no big deal. It was a friendly match, no harm done. It was their fault that they betted against each other. "So Squall, any idea how you ended up in the Shadow Realm?" the human casually asked, ignoring the ensuing argument between the elf and the genome. "You know, one can't randomly pop into the Shadow Realm without proper clearance, a mission or at least some motive."

"I don't know either," Squall replied. "I just woke up there and then monsters came out of nowhere."

The silverette huffed. "So much for that…" she sighed.

"Damn it Zidane! Don't you even dare touch me!" Aiyannah heard her friend yell from behind. The woman sighed again. "_When will they ever stop?"_

"So Squall, you got an invitation as well?" Aiyannah asked.

The gunblader raised an eyebrow. "For the ball? Yeah, why?"

"Oh nothing," she replied with a shrug. "We can all go together then if that's the case." Unknown to Aiyannah, an owl was heading towards her, a scroll in its talons. It was too late for the hume to dodge when she heard its familiar hoot. The silverette looked up, a scroll hitting her right between the eyes. "For the love of the Goddess!" she cried out in pain, covering her nose. Her sudden outburst caught the attention of Chriselda and Zidane, momentarily stopping from their bickering. "What is it this time?" she asked Squall, seeing that he had picked up the rolled up piece of paper.

"It's a summon," he replied.

"By who?" Chriselda asked as she moved behind the gunblader and peered over his shoulder for a look. The elf raised an eyebrow. "King Krug?" she thought out loud. "Now what would that brute of a fellow want with you?"

"Chris!" the human scolded. "Give the dude some respect. He's a king for Lymilark's sake." Aiyannah turned to the brunette. "Can I have a look see Squall?" The SeeD handed over the piece of paper to the mage. "Let's see… He needs to talk to me about the disturbance within Par Ruins…"

"Now why would he ask you?" the elf asked, crossing her slim arms. "It's not like you lurk around the place." Chriselda noticed the strange smile on her friend's face. "Seriously Aya! What the hell have you been doing since I left?"

"I got bored…" Aiyannah meekly replied. The elf could feel her eye twitch. "Any who," Aiyannah chimed, diverting her eyes from the elf, "We don't have to go there right now. The trip to Vales is gonna be long, so let's attend the ball first."

"Speaking of the ball," Chriselda suddenly inserted, "It's tonight right?"

Aiyannah nodded. "Come to think of it, it's already sundown. Don't you think we should better get dressed? You know how crowded it gets in there. It's like those owls send an invitation to every single person on Erinn," she muttered. The silverette grabbed the elf by the arm and began dragging her away. "Let's go, let's go!" she cheered excitedly.

"Hey, what about us?" Zidane blurted out, feeling a bit out of place.

"What about you?" Chriselda asked, the tone of her voice cold and uncaring. Aiyannah raised an eyebrow and whistled a moment afterwards. "Frogurt?" she quietly uttered, seeing a familiar silhouette circling above them. The roar that came from the flying figure confirmed her suspicions. "Run!" the elf ordered, noticing that the creature was slowly descending.

Out of confusion, Squall and Zidane followed the elf's suggestion just in time. As the creature landed, bolts of lightning hit the ground, the creature's scales sparking with electric energy. The being roared once more before walking over to the silverette and purred… or what seemed to be like purring.

"Idiot! You could have hurt us!" Chriselda hissed as she walked back to her friend. "That dragon of yours should give a warning before landing you know!" Aiyannah stuck out her tongue at the elf, but aside from that, she completely ignored the other woman.

"Is… Is that yours?" Zidane hesitantly asked while equally hesitantly trying to approach the two women. The silverette nodded in response, not bothering to face the genome as she was searching something within the dragon's supply bag."How in-"

Chriselda shook her head. "We don't know either. She just walked back to camp one day, dragon in tow," she sighed.

"Here it is~!" Aiyannah sang as she pulled out two bundles of cloth. "This should fit you," she said as she tossed one bundle towards Zidane, "And this should fit you," she stated as she threw the other towards Squall. "A Selina Bare for the monkey and a Cord Suit for Grouchy."

* * *

Aiyannah stared at Chriselda, eyes wide. "I thought you were going to wear the one we gave you…" she murmured. They were wearing the same dress, with the exception of Chriselda's being a light shade of pink. It was odd really.

"Well, seeing that we would be going together, it though that it would be fun if we wore the same thing," the elf nervously said.

"You lost it, didn't you?"

The elf was forced aback, an expression of shock on her face. "How dare you accuse me of losing something so important and precious to me?"

The human sighed. "You lost it," she repeated, this time coming out as a statement.

"I… I _may_ have misplaced it," Chriselda said. "One of my pets _might_ have run away with it…" The elf looked away, avoiding her best friend's straight face. It was a scary face in her opinion. One she did not want to see despite the happy event that they were going to attend when the guys finally show up. "Dammit! Where are those boys? It's quite rude to keep ladies waiting!"

Aiyannah raised an eyebrow. "I must say Chriselda, your skill in changing subjects is quite commendable," she commented. "But yeah, where are they? It's already been an hour… And they only went off to change…"

"You think they were kidnapped by Cichol?"

The silverette shook her head. "I would have known if they were," she answered. "Oh, here they come already," Aiyannah said as she saw Squall and Zidane go up the stairs. "Glad you decided to finally show up!" she hollered down to them. "Aha! I knew they were a perfect fit!" she exclaimed in triumph upon seeing that they were wearing the clothes she had given them.

"Gotta hand it to you Aya," Chriselda murmured as she stood beside her friend and placed a hand on her bare shoulder. "You actually managed to get your tailed friend to look decent." She then turned to the men. "It's a masquerade ladies, so get a mask from the guards and be on your way inside. We'll go ahead of you, okay?"

"If you guys get lost, there's bound to be someone you could ask questions to," Aiyannah continued as she headed for the castle.

"Wait, where are you going?" Zidane asked.

"Guys, we have a life," Chriselda informed them. "We can't fish out handsome, potential boyfriends if there are men hanging around us," she laughed, following Aiyannah.

"That's only you Chriselda!"

"Oh right, you have Alpin," the elf laughed, causing the hume to stop in her tracks and turn about. Aiyannah was blushing. "How long has it been since you last saw him?"

"Chriselda!"

"What? Does that mean I'm not good enough for either of you?" the genome asked again. The two girls laughed. Well, at least one of them did. The other was still blushing profusely.

* * *

"A flower for the beautiful lady?"

The said woman jumped. She tore her eyes away from the two moons and rested her deep purple eyes on the single rose presented to her. "Hi Alpin," she sweetly greeted, a smile on her face. "What brings you here?" she asked as she completely turned around to face him.

Alpin raised an eyebrow. "Well, this _is_ the garden, and I _am_ the gardener," he reminded her. Aiyannah raised her eyebrows before laughing at her silliness. "So, what brings _you_ here?" he asked as he leaned against the balcony right beside the silverette. "I do remember the ball being inside…"

Aiyannah sighed and accepted the bloom, thoughtfully looking into it. "Got too stuffy… I needed some fresh air," she replied. "I've got to hand it to you Alpin… Your flowers are the best I've seen in any garden," she commented.

The blonde smiled. "Thank you," he responded. "I have to make them look their best for all the guests."

Alpin, Tara Rath Castle's one and only gardener. He was Lileas' older sister. He had the same blonde hair as the younger woman's was, albeit a little lighter in shade. His green eyes were more of a dark olive than the common emerald green eyes Aiyannah saw in other people. He was several years older than the silverette and he was as simple as what he looked like. He was easy to please, but not shallow. He was content with what he had, but didn't mind being given more, given that it was noble.

The mage never thought of him as much. Aiyannah would come by the garden to look at the flowers and talk to him and she almost considered their relationship as close as hers and Chriselda's. She found him attractive, especially when he smiled. He always had that smile that Aiyannah admired him for. It was an easy smile, easy to smile back to, making him comfortable to be with… Or maybe that was just her. Maybe that last cup of wine was a bad idea.

"But Alpin, I do believe fallen leaves belong either on the ground, not on someone's head," she stated, still smiling like a fool as she plucked a leaf from the man's hair.

Chuckling, the gardener shook his head to get rid of any more that might have clung on to him. "What about flowers? Do you think flowers removed from their bushes belong to the ground as well?" he asked as he took the rose he had given her. The man shook his head. "Nope. I think a flower like this _does _belong on someone's head." Gently, he tucked the red rose behind Aiyannah's ear. "There, much better."

The silverette could feel the blood rush to her face. It could be the alcohol she had ingested earlier, or the man right beside her. "Stop it Alpin!" she exclaimed, gently pushing the gardener. "You're embarrassing me!"

"What did I do?" he innocently asked, chuckling all the while as he avoided another blow from the lady. "Alright, alright," he admitted. "I surrender, surrender I say." Aiyannah huffed as she drew her shawl closer to her body. The wind was getting colder by the minute. "But I still say that flower looks better on you," he added.

Again, Aiyannah huffed. "But that doesn't mean it looks better _than_ you," he informed her. "You'd be a thousand times more beautiful than any flower in Erinn."

The heat came rushing back to the mage's face. "Alpin!"

The said man raised his hands for her to see in complete surrender. "I'm only saying the truth," he quickly said in defense. "I'm not joking, honest," he told her when Aiyannah shot him a look.

Huffing for the third time during their conversation, Aiyannah crossed her arms. "It's a compliment, then?" she asked him. She turned to him for an answer and he answered her with a nod. "Thank you then."

"You're very much welcome."

"Sorry for hitting you," she muttered.

Alpin shook his head. "It didn't hurt."

Aiyannah raised an eyebrow. "Oh it didn't, did it?"

The older man widened his green eyes, recognizing the mischievous tone in her voice. He took a step back and raised his hands before him. "Aiyannah," he began, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Don't do anything brash now. You're in a dress. Don't you think it's inappropriate to fight in a dress?" he said, trying to coax her out of whatever she was planning.

He failed, and Aiyannah jumped him. They came falling down onto the patch of grass near them and it became a contest of who could overpower the other. Aiyannah appeared to be winning at first, having gotten the element of surprise on her side and had the man pinned down. But Alpin was bigger, stronger. It was only a matter of moments before they switched places, Aiyannah now under the gardener, her back pressed against the grass.

But it wasn't over yet. Aiyannah and Alpin continued on switching positions for a good five minutes before they ended up beside a large ornate pot of flowers, preventing another switch. It ended with Alpin on top, Aiyannah beneath him.

Both were panting after the little brawl and both had a few drops of sweat trickling down their faces which were only a few inches apart. "I win," Alpin breathed, a triumphant smile on his face. It was not every day that he could best the woman.

A wide smile appeared on the woman's face. "You may have won the battle, but you have yet to win the war," she informed him. The two laughed at her words. "Alright, alright Alpin, get off me," she sighed after their laughter died down, but the gardener did not yield. "Alpin, come on, get up," she told him.

"Have I ever told you you're beautiful?" he suddenly asked her from out of the blue, his eyes looking wistful.

The silverette raised a fine eyebrow. "Yeah, a while ago and several times before," she truthfully answered, chuckling a bit. It was true. There were several occasions during her visit to the castle that Alpin would complement her. She would always pass it off as a joke or a friendly compliment.

"How about I love you?"

Aiyannah looked up in thought. "Yes, a few times," she said, answering his question. He did say those words to her before. The first time was when she came by after a mission in the Shadow Realm. She had arrived in a not so well condition and Alpin had been worried.

She shook her head, casting away the memory. She had blushed during that time and she was sure as hell that she was blushing right now. Aiyannah shifted her position a bit and it finally hit her that he was straddling her waist and had her wrists pinned. "Alpin~" she sang, trying to get his attention. "This is getting a bit awkward~"

But Alpin ignored her. "Have I ever told you you're strong, kind and beautiful? Cute, smart and sweet?" At that, Aiyannah was at a complete loss for words. "No?" Alpin asked, a troubled look crossing his face. "I thought I told you already," he mumbled.

She was blushing full force now, Aiyannah knew. "A-Alpin," she stammered. "I'm very flattered you think of me that way, but this is a very uncomfortable position I'm at and-" Aiyannah widened her violet eyes. Warm lips pressed against hers, stopping all mental processes. It was quick. It only lasted a second. A quick kiss.

After that, Alpin took another few moments of starring into the woman's eyes. Aiyannah, having nowhere else to look at, stared back. She wasn't sure it was just her, or the previously cold night air rose in temperature. Or it may be her hormones raging. She was, after all, just seventeen. "Alpin," she breathed. She intended on scolding the man, convince him to get off, but she couldn't will herself to do so. Frustrated, the silverette growled. "I am so gonna regret this tomorrow," she murmured before raising herself and kissed the man.

She could tell that he was surprised. If he wasn't, she would not have been able to push herself up into a sitting position. As soon as she was stead, she wrapped her arms around his neck, slightly annoyed by the straw hat that was always hung around it. In response, she found Alpin placing a hand on her waist, and another at the base of her head.

"Aya," he breathed when they parted. "Do you love me?"

The said woman blushed and nodded. It was now or never. Make it, or break it. Have a shot at happily ever after, or miss it completely. "More than anything," she honestly told him. Yes, gone was Hamlet. Besides, he was already dead. There was no use in fooling herself that he'd miraculously appear. Aside from that, he never saw her that way. It was always Ophelia.

Aiyannah got onto her knees and pulled the man into an embrace. "Oh Alpin…" she sighed.

The gardener smiled. He honestly thought he would get himself the most painful beating of his life after pulling that stunt. "Now that's settled," he chuckled as he ran a hand through the woman's hair. "I should've done this sooner," he added before burying his head into the brook of her neck. He took a deep breath, relishing her scent, and exhaled. He felt her shiver in response and pulled away, a smile still on his face. "Maybe you should go back inside… You might get sick out here."

The silverette shook her head. "To hell with health," she muttered as she sat herself beside him on the grass. "I'll stay here until the party's over." Alpin chuckled and wrapped an arm around the woman's shoulders. "Or maybe never," she playfully added as she leaned in closer and closed her eyes.

"Or maybe until your dear, dear elf friend comes to pick you up and get on with saving the world?" a sarcastic voice added.

Alpin and Aiyannah widened their eyes at the familiar voice. "Busted…" Aiyannah whispered as she dared to open her eyes and look up. As she expected, Chriselda was standing right before them. How long she had been around though, neither of them knew, but gods how they prayed not that long.

"Alright, break it up, break it up," Chriselda chanted as she grabbed her friend by the arm. "Go get your shawl and head back to Squall, Zidane and Luneth while I talk to your boyfriend," she sternly told her. Aiyannah winced as Chriselda pushed her away. She did as she was told, grumbling all the way. "And as for you," the elf said as she watched the gardener get up to meet her at eye level… Well maybe not eye level, he _was_ taller. "I am not going to meddle with whatever is going on between you and my best friend," she began, her pink eyes narrowing. "But if you ever, ever, make hurt her, or even prick her with those roses you've been giving her… I. WILL. KILL. YOU," she threatened, jabbing a finger into the man's chest at the last four words.

"Don't worry," Alpin calmly said, not at all threatened. "But you better take care of her on this trip of yours."

Chriselda huffed. "Don't have to tell me that," she chuckled as she patted the man on the shoulder. "See you around Alpin," she chimed. "Aya, I thought you went back," she said as Aiyannah came walking back to them.

"Luneth?" the silverette asked.

The elf nodded. "Found him being held prisoner by Briana."

"Briana?" Alpin echoed.

Again, Chriselda nodded. "Briana tricked the poor boy into fetching her music sheets for her," she explained, a hint of humor in her voice. "Anyway, say good bye to each other and what the hell are you doing out here?"

* * *

_Belated Merry Christmas people!_

_The Alpin-Aiyannah just came up. I was actually just going to make something about the two of them really…_


End file.
